Chasing Lights
by Combustspontaneously
Summary: Annabeth has been in the game for years now, with little to show for it other than supporting actress nominations and not even a DUI on her record. Meanwhile, newcomer Percy comes out of nowhere and wins the lead role in a giant project and the entire country's in love. Annabeth's not convinced, but if playing along means finally getting the lead, she's willing to play along. AU
1. Audition

All of Hollywood eagerly awaits the breakdown of Annabeth Chase. She has, afterall, been in the game for almost ten years now, with nothing to show for it other than a series of supporting actress nominations (emphasis on nominations), and not even a DUI on her spotless record. Let's face it: it's inevitable. Meanwhile, newcomer Percy Jackson all but comes out of nowhere and wins the starring role in the biggest movie of the year – and the hearts of screaming fangirls everywhere. Annabeth's less than fooled, but when a paparazzi snaps a picture of them leaving an audition together after a screen test, everyone jumps on the Percabeth wagon, including her agent and the movie's directors. Annabeth's far from in love, but if pretending to be means finally getting a lead role for once and getting everyone off her back, she's willing to play along.

Hollywood AU, if you hadn't noticed.

Xx

Warning: slight cursing.

For a successful actress (her agent and her had varying definitions of 'successful'), Annabeth Chase lived modestly. She didn't have a house in the hills (a two bedroom condo in downtown Los Angeles was more than what she needed, and expensive enough), drive a Porsche (too flashy, attracted paparazzi pests), or own one of those purse dogs (overrated and annoyingly yappy). In Thalia (best friend/agent)'s eyes, this was a tragedy.

"You're better than all those other talentless, emaciated bimbos," She complained loudly over a plate of sushi. "I don't see why you don't act like it."

Annabeth sent her a warning glare before ducking her head to avoid the glares from the table behind them. "Keep your voice down, yeah? Some people might think you're directing it specifically to them, and then we'll be banned from Nobu. Besides, I like the way I live."

Thalia rolled her eyes, and sent a false-cheery wave to the doubtlessly 'talentless, emaciated (and probably very offended) bimbo'. "I _love _what you did with your hair, Lindsey!" She called. "Now _that's_ a trainwreck, if I ever saw one." She said to Annabeth once the other girl had turned away, disgusted. "Look, Annabeth, I love you and your work, you know that. But as your agent, it's my job to make sure you have a job. You don't have a single thing lined up once this movie is over. You don't even have an audition! The press is bored, and quite frankly, I have no idea what to do with you. You need at least to audition for a part."

"One will turn up." Annabeth said weakly.

"Four have turned up. You said no to all of them."

Annabeth threw up her hands exasperatedly. "They were all for whiny, witless, side parts who did nothing but sit around and wait to be rescued! You know what audition I want."

Thalia knew, alright, because Annabeth had made sure of it. A huge movie was in the works, some action/fantasy piece that was based off of a book Annabeth had read years before and loved. It already had a giant fanbase, and was a project that - if she could pull off – would make Annabeth's career.

"A lead part is very hard to get," She said slowly, fidgeting with her napkin. "You're still in school, and directors are very reluctant to hire someone with other time commitments…"

"I'm close to graduating now, I've been an emaciated minor years, and you said it yourself. The press is bored with me." For the past two months the tabloids had been all about some newcomer from NYC. Percy whatever who was rumored to be casted opposite of the part she wanted. Personally she couldn't see the draw. Tousled dark hair, 'piercing' green eyes – I mean, she had a crush on Harry Potter when she was eight but come on.

Thalia gritted her teeth. "Annabeth, look. Maybe I can get you an audition for a supporting role…"

"No!" She lowered her voice. "Thalia. I need this. You've just got to trust that I'm a good enough actress to do it."

"You know I do."

"Then get me an audition." And then she walked out; a nice touch to a dramatic end, she thought.

Xx

"Thanks for making me pay for our lunch," Were Thalia's first words after entering their condo, scowling.

"Yeah, well it was your turn anyway." She replied, but feeling slightly guilty regardless. "Sorry about that, though. Guess the press might have something to write about anyway though."

"Listen," Thalia came to stand in front of her. Even though Thalia, who was two years older than eighteen-year-old Annabeth, was wearing combat boots with thick soles, she only came to about Annabeth's chin. With her short stature, dark, spiky hair, and matching clothes, she looked about perpetually fifteen. "I got you an audition."

Annabeth who was fiddling about on her phone, looked up. "With…?"

Thalia nodded. With a surprised gasp, she flung her arms around her, uttering a million thank you's. "Yeah, yeah. Just think of me when you're accepting your awards. Here's your script," Thalia managed a sheepish grin. "I gotta say though… It's a good thing you already read the book though, because, uh..." Annabeth made a vague noise of agreement, already flipping through the first couple pages. "Your audition's… kind of in half an hour."

Annabeth froze and look up. "Pardon?"

"Uhm, oops?"

Gods, she was going to kill Thalia.

Xx

Hurrying across a crowded lot in the middle of the day in Hollywood, balancing a script and a coffee was just about the last way she wanted to spend the last five minutes she had before the biggest audition of her career so far. Especially not when she was also trying to read the script for the FIRST TIME.

She was only twenty pages in and hardly past the director's instructions when she made it to building 34AC, the small, unassuming place where many aspiring actors either made their break, or had their dreams broken. It was a labyrinth of hallways, and by the time she made it to the room Thalia had marked on the inside of her forearm, she was seconds away from being late. What a great impression, huh?

A man with a receding hairline stalked back and forth in front of the door. His attire was both noticeable and horrible, an oversized neon orange Hawaii shirt that poorly veiled his emerging potbelly and a pair of khaki shorts that drew the kind of attention people normally don't want to his chicken legs. Recognition was instant.

He barely glanced up as Annabeth came hurrying towards him, tossing the cup into a trashcan and furtively using her newly freed hand to bat down any curls gone astray.

"Mr. D!" Annabeth put on her best fake smile (quite good, if she said so herself). "I didn't know you were going to be casting this movie!" It turned out the attempt at friendliness wasn't necessary; the man was completely imbursed in his game of pac-man. Mr. D casted all the biggest blockbusters in Hollywood, and did so with the sourest disposition and the oddest love of retro games.

"Chase," He barked, once he finally put the phone down. "You do know that we're only auditioning for the lead part today?" Annabeth's jaw clenched.

"Yes," She gritted out. "I'm sure I'll do just fine, _sir_."

Mr. D laughed. "Save the 'sirs' for Chiron, sweetheart."

She froze without knowing why. Chiron was the best director in the entire town, it made sense that he was on this project. Still… when Annabeth was a child, he directed the sitcom that had started off her career. It ran for five years, and he grew to be like the stand in for her father who lived half an hour away and hardly bothered with a birthday call. They had talked here and there in passing on the red carpet and such, but since then she had hardly even seen him…

The door burst open – nearly knocking out Mr. D, who scuttled out of the way just in time – and a leggy brunette came striding out. Chiron, five years older and many grey hairs more mature, rolled out with her. She was saying something to him and he nodded along politely, the pair not noticing Annabeth, who stood uncertainly in the corner.

"Well, we'll contact you." Chiron said, smiling beneath his beard as she bobbed her head and turned towards Annabeth to leave. Her smile faded somewhat substantially the farther she got from Chiron and Mr.D and the closer she got to Annabeth.

"Good luck," The girl whispered, not entirely in an encouraging manner, as she passed. Annabeth swallowed the urge to snap back a witty retort, turning instead to Chiron.

"Annabeth!" His eyes warmed with his grin. "When I saw your name on the sheet, I have to say I wasn't surprised." He reached up to give her a hug. He smelled like stale coffee and cinnamon, something she missed terribly. "Come in,"

Annabeth followed him into a blank room, beige and off-white, empty except for a table and a couple of unpadded chairs. She waited for him to roll his wheelchair up to the table before taking a seat across from him.

"Okay, so I'm going to ask you to read a couple scenes with me, alright?"

Annabeth forced down a deep breath and a too-broad smile. Auditioning had never gotten easier throughout the years, no matter how many times she did it.

_This part is_ _meant for me_.

"Flip towards the back to page 89, please – " The door burst open again, this time without any pretense. Annabeth scowled and turned her head towards the door. The first thing she noticed about the boy who walked through the door were his eyes. They were bright green even from across the room and they found her's with ease. He stopped when he noticed her, hesitating on the way in. The idiot was _smirking. _"Percy, what a surprise." Surprise indeed. Percy took his eyes off her and she willed herself to do the same.

"H-hey, Chiron, I was wondering if, uh," His eyes drifted to her's again. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt?"

"Little bit." Annabeth couldn't help the irritation in her voice. God, some people just had no tact.

Instead of hanging his head in embarrasment like she expected, he stared back in surprise, eyes uncomfortably bright.

"Well this is perfect!" Startled, Annabeth glanced back at Chiron, who'd begun to wheel back towards the door. "Annabeth, meet your potential costar, Percy Jackson." _Percy Jackson? _This _bumbling buffoon is _the _Percy Jackson? Guess the rumors were true. Piercing green eyes _indeed_. _

"Chiron?" Apparently Percy was just as surprised. He moved out of the way and held the door open.

"Now that you're here, you can read in my place, Jackson," He said patiently. "Consider it an audition and a screen test all in one sitting. And you can close the door, son, I'm not leaving." Percy, dumbfounded, did as asked and Chiron settled next to the door, crinkled eyes watching her.

Percy was still lost, standing awkwardly in between them. "But…" He glanced at the script Chiron had thrown at him in his hands and blinked at Annabeth who was less nervous and more irritated. For the first time since he burst in, he looked uncertain of himself.

"But _what, _Jackson?" Annabeth said, losing her patience and regretting it when he fixated on her again. Something about his stare just made her squirm.

"Nothing," He looked surprised and pleased at her interruption, any uncertainty gone. The brightness in his eyes was back, mischievous and self-righteous all at once.

Chiron, somewhere in the background, stifled a chortle.

Percy took a chair from the farthest corner of the room, dragging it on two legs painfully slowly. The metal on metal sound made her cringe. He let it fall back on the ground gracelessly and grinned at her discomfort.

"Well, Ms. Chase," He grinned. "Let's get started."

_Shit._

_A/N: Please do me a favor and review! Even three words would be great :D Constructive criticism is encouraged._


	2. Of Awkward Meetings in Crowded Diners

_:Percy:_

The worst thing about having the paparazzi follow you around all the time wasn't having to take all the back alleys that smelled like garbage and vomit – New York had prepared him for that – it was the douchebag glasses. You know – the whole wearing sunglasses at night to avoid the flashing cameras thing, because you'd rather look like a jerk than be blind – but only by a little. Especially now.

It had been three days since the audition. Not his – her's. The thought of it made his palms sweat and his heart pick up a little faster. It was just the way she looked at him, like she couldn't believe he could amount to anything, nevertheless score a huge role with Hollywood's finest. Like she was daring him to prove her wrong. And then she opened up that script, and just _became the part. _For twenty minutes, he almost forgot that she was acting, that the girl across the table wasn't really her, the Cassie Frey in the script. That this girl wasn't actually in love with him. She snapped out of it as soon as the scene ended and Chiron turned off the camera. He was having a little harder time. Annabeth Chase. Absentmindedly, he thought about the next time he might see her, wondering if she might be thinking about the same. What he would wear, what he would say to her – congratulations probably – she kicked ass at the audition, and there was no way they could find anyone better for the role.

What he hadn't expected however, was for the next time he'd see her to be at the shabby diner down the street from his apartment. He'd caught a glimpse of her profile standing in line through the glass door as he debated furiously with himself about whether or not he should go in. _God, why do you care so much? _He thought irritatedly. He was wearing wrinkled jeans, a beanie, and a sweatshirt with an unidentifiable stain on it – hardly what his mother would call presentable. He had just decided that turning around and going through the rest of the night without any dinner would be preferable to having her see him like this when he looked up from trying to scrub the stain the away and saw that she was already staring at him through the galss, lips posed in a curious half-smile. _Great. Just fucking great_.

She made a sort of beckoning guesture, her face still paused in the beginning of some kind of laughter.

Deciding that pretending that he hadn't seen her and running away would undoubtably make him look even weirder than she inevitably already thought he was, he saw no way around it and ducked inside.

"Hi," She was still looking at him oddly. Understandable, but regrettable. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, you know, just in the neighborhood. Well I mean, I – I live in the neighborhood, so uh…" He cleared his throat not sure how to end. "Just getting me some dinner." He finished lamely. '_Just getting me some dinner'? What the hell was he? A cowpoke? Aghhhhhh._

"Right," She said slowly. "Me too, actually. I live a couple blocks West, but the food here's worth the walk. Plus I still owe my agent for getting me such a last minute audition and she loves the burgers here, so." Percy nodded along like an idiot. What was wrong with him?

To her credit, Annabeth looked substantially more put together than him, in an oversized hoodie that somehow looked both careless and comfortable, but sophisticated, skinny jeans, and converse hightops. She reminded him of the hipsters that used to hang around the artist studio his mom used to work in, not at all like how he looked after his audition, harebrained and half-dead from apprehension. She cleared her throat, and he remembered that she was still waiting for a reply.

"Right. The audition. You did, uh, you did really well. Brilliant, really." Was it just him or did she looked flustered?

"You think?" Her voice sounded raw. Immediately after she snapped her mouth close and averted her eyes. Percy wondered if she was holding up as well as he thought she was. "I don't mean to dig for compliments -"

"No, it's fine," He assured her. He remember how he'd called his agent every half hour for a week trying to find out if he had gotten the part. "I've never heard anyone so convincing. I'll be surprised if you don't get the part. You were extraordinary, Annabeth."

She blushed, still not looking at him. "Thanks, I guess. Anyway," She lifted the hand that held the take out boxes. "See you around." She threw on her hood and began towards the door. She hesitated, hand on the knob before turning around, smirking. "Nice sunglasses, seaweed brain."

Xx

_:Annabeth:_

What the hell was she doing? Ever since she got home from the audition it was nothing but panic. She had thrown herself into her drawing, and the entire flat was filled with doodles. Set designs, buildings that probably weren't seen anywhere but Greece, beautiful women dressed in flowing white gowns, anything to take her mind off of… well everything.

When she first got back from her audition, she was seething. This guy was supposed to be some kind of god, the talent Hollywood should've discovered years ago. The kind of acting expertise that had taken her ten years to even attempt. And of course, he was _born_ with it. She hadn't believed the stories, thought the casting was some kind of mess up, a joke. Some rumor Paris had started. Whatever. No _newcomer _got casted for something this important. There had to be some kind of Mabelline shit involved; no one was just born perfect. She wasn't sure what she expected when he burst into her audition and confirmed her worst nightmare. Could hardly believe it when he began to read out his first lines. He was… extraordinary.

And he thought she was, too.

_I guess I was just waiting for him to trip up. Waiting for him to show them all wrong, that he wasn't perfect._

But he was. He was perfect for the part and – grungingly, she admitted – gorgeous; he got to be defiant and infuriating, and bashful and sweet. She couldn't even get the lead in a movie.

She decided not to trust him. There had to be something there. A hamartia yet to be discovered.

She could change that.

Xx

_Four days after the audition._

No news.

Xx

_A week after the audition._

No news.

Xx

_A week and a half after the audition._

Annabeth has stopped periodically checking her phone.

Xx

_Two weeks after the audition._

Annabeth does one of the auditions Thalia set up for her weeks ago. She reasons that the part wouldn't do too badly.

Xx

_Fifteen days after the audition._

Annabeth goes back to the diner where she met Percy for the first time since she saw him.

Xx

_A/N: Thanks for reading! As always, if you could leave a review, it would really mean the world to me. Even something really short! I should have the next one up in a couple days._


	3. The Wait is Treacherous

_I am lame. I am the _epitome _of lame. I am so lame I emanate it. There are literally _rays _of lame shining off of me right now. Oops, sorry couple two booths over. Better choose a better booth so you don't catch my LAME._

Percy groaned and faceplanted onto the booth table. "Why am I doing this to myself?" He moaned. There was a squeak of vinyl as the couple turned in their seats to stare at him. Don't mind me, just Hollywood's Next Big Thing waiting in a greasy diner for a girl I only met twice to show up again, he wanted to say. He wasn't even sure why he was so hung up over her anymore. I mean sure, there were those startling gray eyes, and the corner of her mouth that turned into a disapproving frown that turned him on in the weirdest, most Freudian way, and those blond curls that didn't look fake the way other actresses' did, and…

God, he had to stop.

Not for the first time he replayed the scene in the – this – diner again. He was such a fumbling idiot, no wonder she didn't want to see him again. She was probably avoiding this diner just so she wouldn't have to bump into him again. _He ruined a diner for her_. God, he was off to a bad start.

_She probably hates me by now_, he thought miserably, the thought ached in his gut.

The sound of someone clearing their throat next to him startled him into jumping upright. He saw blond hair spilling out from a black beanie, a formfitting red dress, and – oh. Brown eyes. The waitress arched an eyebrow at him, pen hovering over a notepad. "Just give me another coffee, please." He mumbled dejectedly, already putting his head back on his arms to avoid the waitresses judgemental stares. God, it was like she had never had a guy live out of a booth running on pure caffeine and pretty-girl-obsession. Like, get with the times, man.

This wasn't like him. He'd only ever had one serious girlfriend back in New York, and that obviously didn't work out well. He hadn't really understood why she'd broken it off. Something about 'not being the one you're supposed to end up with'. Whatever that meant. He just figured it had been Rachel's way of saying it's not you – it's me. Then again, she'd always been a bit vague. That had been the weird thing about her; she would be spunky and down-to-earth one second, and then bam! All of a sudden she'd be spewing some poetic, gypsy crap. She was different from Annabeth in that way. She had big, frizzy red hair that you couldn't miss from a block off, and always acted like one of the guys. Annabeth on the otherhand was all class and daggers – like she could defeat an army with just a knife and get out without a drop of blood on her shoes. She was aloof, and intelligent, like _really _intelligent. She was so out of his league.

The only similarity between the two were the way they made him feel. When he first met Rachel he hadn't thought much of it. He was only twelve, and she was crazy. But… the good kind of crazy. The kind of crazy that helped you sneak into the school at night to pull pranks and stood up for you against arrogant high school idiots even though you'd both end up nursing wounds in the morning. One day after they were walking back to his apartment to play video games, shoving each other and laughing at some corny joke or other, she'd stopped in her tracks. He'd stopped too, confused at first, but more so when Rachel grabbed his hood, pulled his face down to be level with her's, and kissed him. The best part was she didn't even skip a beat. As soon as her lips left his, she adjusted his hood, looped her arm around his and kept walking. They didn't play many video games that day.

They dated for two years until her dad found out and totally freaked that his daughter was dating some hooligan, no doubt. She got sent to some fancy prepatory school – something he still felt guilty about. They dated in secret for another five months until she ended it – telling him over and over again it wasn't his fault. They stayed friends, but she stayed in New York and he moved to Hollywood.

What they had faded back to what it was before the kiss, but for those two years… he felt like he was flying. He didn't care so that he was having so much trouble in school, or that he really only had two friends. He didn't really care about anything but her.

That's how he felt about Annabeth didn't even have to date her – hell, he didn't even know if she was single. There was just this _draw _to her. He hadn't planned to come to this diner this evening. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to go here ever again after the embarrassment two weeks ago. He had just been walking along his block to go find a bite to eat when he found himself standing in front of the diner doors.

So here he was. At nearly nine at night. Ridiculous. He burrowed his head into his arms again.

Someone cleared their throat next to him. "Just a coffee, please." Became his automated response after nearly three hours of waiting.

"Uh, pardon?" The sound of her voice jolted through him. He sprang upright and found he was now towering over Annabeth. The pair stared at each other for a moment, both surprised to see each other, though it wasn't clear who was more.

_She actually showed up. Could it be…?_

"I was just in the neighborhood -" They said in almost complete unison. Percy blushed, Annabeth managed a tight smile.

"Sit down," Percy said after a pause, shoving an empty cup of coffee off to the side. She took the seat across from him, fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt. They were quiet for a second.

"So how are you?" Percy asked lamely, grimacing inwardly when he heard how weak it sounded.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Look, I know how pushy this sounds, but..." Apparently she wasn't one for small talk. He could respect that. "I wanted to know if you heard anything about callbacks for the audition." She said it all in a rush, eyes averted in embarrassment. He took this to mean that she was normally one for asking favors. Percy calculated how badly she must have wanted this part to have come all the way down here and ask for news from someone she barely knew. Almost as much as he had wanted to see her, he guessed.

Percy deflated a little bit. Of course she wanted to know about the audition. She wouldn't have come all this way to talk weather.

He tried to focus on the question. "Yeah. I mean, Chiron mentioned stuff about it. I'm not really supposed to talk about it though." See? He could still follow ethics even with a pretty girl. A very, very pretty girl.

_Focus, Jackson._

"Oh." He registered the disappointment in her voice, even as her calm expression never wavered.

"Oh, come on," He chuckled, and Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's just that you're… _Annabeth Chase. _Like, you're a household name. I already told you, you killed the audition. I'm sure they don't even think a screen test is necessary for you since we already read together and everything. Plus they haven't done any more rounds for auditions. I think your agent squeezed you in at the last second in the final round."

"You think?" Percy almost wanted to laugh at how adorably earnest she looked, a total change from her composed facade a second ago, but decided at the last second that she might take it the wrong way.

"Completely." He hesitated. "Look, just give me your number and I'll tell you if I hear anything I _can _tell you."

Suddenly, vulnerable, quiet Annabeth disappeared and the Annabeth he'd met at the audition resurfaced. "Oh?" She smirked coyly. "And how do I know this isn't just a ploy to get my number?"

"You don't." He got her there. Narrowing her eyes playfully, but submitting that he clearly had the upper hand here, she scribbled her number on a napkin and moved to get up, waving away his protests.

"I shouldn't have come in the first place," She said. "Thank you for everything but I ought to be getting home. Really. You'd be a great costar to work with. Have a good evening, Percy." She added almost as an afterthought.

"'Night, Annabeth." He said wistfully as she'd walked away.

_A great costar to work with. _

Not much, but he took it.

Xx

Annabeth breathed out a sigh as the door chimed closed behind her. It was like the thought of her supposed failed audition had hung in the air, a cloud too dense to breathe in. She had debated going to the diner for hours, trying to pretend that her occupation for the dingy place was her stomach crying out to her. When Thalia got home from arranging this or that and Annabeth offered to go out and get them food, she pretended she was just being a good friend.

Annabeth pretended a lot these days. When she saw Percy sitting alone in that booth – there was no mistaking that unruly dark mop – she wondered if it had been fate… then dismissed the thought quickly. For all she knew he came here every night for dinner.

Then of course, he had told her that she still had a fighting chance at getting the part, and she swore she could've leaned across that table and kissed right then and there. Good thing she had restraint over herself, or she'd probably find herself with a sexual harassment charge hanging over her head. She wondered vaguely whether or not he was likely to file one. She let out a soft bark of laughter as she bundled herself in her overcoat and began walking home. "_Stupid…"_ She muttered beneath her breath softly. Interested in her or not, Percy Jackson was most certainly not her type, and he'd have to try a lot harder than that to win her over.

_A/N: God, okay. This one is a bit longer so hopefully it makes up for the longer wait time? … Yes? Anyway. Reviews never hurt and hardly take any time… you know… if you want._


	4. Secret? Perhaps

If there was one thing Silena Beauregard loved, it was shopping. Well, and boys. But mostly shopping.

…

Fine; 50% Shopping.

Which is why after bumping into her at a coffee shop, Annabeth had found it reasonable to enlist her help in choosing a dress for the premier for her latest movie. After all, Thalia hated shopping and she didn't have many other friends who threw themselves into dress picking like Silena did. Or many other friends in general, for that matter.

"You know what? I think I like the peachy one better. Come put this one on again," Silena said, and the designer came rushing to her side, holding out the floor-length shimmery gown the same way a waiter presents a wine.

Annabeth huffed, feeling like an overworked dress up doll. "What's wrong with this one?"

Silena glanced her over and frowned. "Too frumpy. You look like Nanny McPhee." The designer nodded earnstly, as she did every time Silena made a comment, even if it meant trashing her own design. Annabeth decided she didn't trust the woman.

Annabeth observed herself in the wall length mirror. The dress was a navy velvet, with a modest neckline and folds and ruffles in the skirt and train. She cocked her head. Well, now that she looked at it…

She scowled and snatched the hanger from the woman, stalking back to the dressing room to change yet again. One of the perks of being a well-known actress is that you didn't have to pay a dime for thousand dollar dresses if it meant that you'd be photographed in it. Every year since she was nine, designers came up to Thalia begging for a chance for one of their designs made it to the red carpet. This year only one stepped up to the plate. Neither of them wanted to stop and think about what this meant. Annabeth gritted her teeth and diverted her attention to the zipper that went up the back. After about three minutes she finally got it all the way up and went back out to the main room, dress swirling around her ankles.

She found herself back on the platform that took up the center of the room, and discovered that Silena had struck up a very interesting sounding conversation about the pros and cons about sequined shoes with the designer. Annabeth spent a moment adjusting a strap here and a bit of fabric there, until she realized the entire room had gone silent. She glanced up and found Silena looking up at her.

"What?" She asked, suddenly uncomfortable with the attention on her. It was unlogical, she knew. She was an actress, after all. There was something different about being seen for _her _though, with no script to follow or wig to hide behind.

"Annabeth," Silena clasped her hands together beneath her chin, squealing like a delighted child. "You look so wonderful!"

"_So _wonderful!" The designer agreed.

Annabeth flushed and swished around to look at the mirror.

There was nothing frumpy about this gown. It was a simple design, a flowy dress made out of layers and layers of soft, slightly sheer fabric. The extraordinary thing were the colors, subtle peach and rose streaked pigments blended and merged on the gown like a painting. It brought out the softness beneath Annabeth's hard edges, morphing her normally steely eyes into a liquid silver, and bringing color to her pale skin. She looked – for once in her life – like someone who belonged in the lead role.

"Meredith?" The designer hurried forward. "I'd like you to send this to my apartment, please," Annabeth said softly.

Xx

Percy was beside himself with excitement. He was positively drunk with happiness, whooping and hollering with delight – on the inside. On the outside he was cool and nonchalant – indifferent, even. The way you were supposed to act when your costar – who you totally don't care about or for – had been officially cast.

Well, not officially, officially. The only people who knew were the directors themselves, the producers, and now him. They hadn't even told Annabeth yet.

They were supposed to call her later on today, but he'd asked to do it himself. Chiron had agreed with a raised eyebrow, but agreed nonetheless. He'd twitched around his phone for ages, picking it up and setting it back down in various places around the apartment, trying to muster up the courage to talk to her again. Later that day his friend,Grover, came over to go over the filming schedule and noted his jitteriness.

Grover, being his best friend since the New York City days and strangely acute, was always one to pick up on his random moods. With an agent for a dad, Grover was Hollywood bound just as much as he claimed Percy was born to be. Then again, that might've just been agent talk. It only seemed right that he moved out to Hollywood with him to help his best friend start his career.

"Is this about Annabeth?" He asked.

"Yeah," Percy admitted sheepishly.

Grover got quiet for a second, twisting around the little hemp bracelet he wore on his wrist.

"What?" Percy asked, unnerved by his best friend's sudden quietness.

"Nothing," Grover said quickly, flashing a less than convincing grin. "So what is it?" Percy grinned – his was real – and suddenly his suspicion fled, replaced with a bright glowy feeling he couldn't put a name to.

"She got cast," He said excitedly.

"What? That's fantastic." Grover's smile returned. "Does she know yet?"

"No," He admitted. "I was about to call her when you came over. I'm going to ask her to meet me in the diner." Grover had been informed in detail about the diner.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Percy grinned again and went to his bedroom to make his call.

Grover sighed and covered his eyes with his hand, slumping against a wall. It was barely a minute before Percy jetted out again, grabbing his coat and keys from beside the door. Grover pushed himself off the wall and opened his eyes again.

"So I take it you got through to her?"

"Yep," Percy shrugged on his military jacket. "Well, technically her agent, but she's going to forward the message, and apparently she's shopping near there." Almost as an afterthought, he walked back towards Grover and tossed him the remote. "Feel free to hang out here if you want."

Percy went back out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Grover stared at the closed door, his face crumpling with misery. Oh, how he wished he didn't have to keep something so important from his best friend…

_A/N: Hey guys! jKFJDlkfjskl super busy with new semester stuff, so it all kind of sucks. I do hope you enjoyed this update, and that (if you did, or didn't) you'll leave a review? Thanks, darlings! Hope you're all alright.3_


	5. A win for all

Silena was more than put out when Annabeth told her she had to run. There were protests of "But we haven't even gotten you shoes yet!" and "What about my dress?". She did feel terribly guilty about ditching her – but the urgency in which Thalia had told her to meet Percy left her feeling even worse.

She knew what it was about, of course – the movie. What else could he be wanting to talk to her about? Silena finally let her go with the promise that they would pick back up after lunch, teasingly rolling her eyes. Annabeth nearly tore the dress in her haste to get it off and back into her own clothes. She was still zipping up her fly when she walked back out of the dressing room. She called a hasty goodbye to Meredith and Silena, half-jogging down the street. She looked up at the street signs. She was only a ten minute walk away from the diner – seven if she speedwalked, five if she stole a cab.

She made it there in four.

Annabeth burst into the diner, carried by her momentum. She skidded the last few steps, sheepishly sending everyone apologetic glances. Speaking of, where was Percy?

The counter was filled up with construction workers, and the only table occupied was one housing a tired looking couple. She scanned the booths in the back but came up short.

"Looking for me, are we?"

She jumped. Percy walked out from behind her, an eyebrow raised.

"You startled me, " She snapped unnecessarily.

Percy shrugged, walking off to the booth she had seen him in last time, not bothering to check if she was following him. It was so weird. It was like the roles were reversed, her standing in the middle of a greasy restaurant all sweaty and desperate for news. And him looking… whatever. Not like she was really _looking _anyway. "I wasn't aware you were able to be scared, Chase." Nope, definitely not looking.

Annabeth scowled at his back and followed him. Not like she had a choice anyway. She slid into the opposite booth, clasping her hands in front of her. She was painfully aware of how she looked. Like she was _desperate. Ugh._

"So shopping, huh?" He smirked at her.

"Yes. For my premier next week. Did the part get cast?" He bit his lip, holding back a chuckle at her bluntness.

"Don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"I thought we went over this already." He smiled again.

"Very well…" He leaned towards her, eyes grave. She found herself leaning in too. Her heart pounded – from anxiety, of course. It wasn't like there was anything else that could have caused it. "The part's going to…" He made an odd pattering sound on the table top. "Be announced after a short commercial break!"

Annabeth was twitching. Honest to god, eye twitching. She was going to strangle him. She really, really was. Though of course, the news would eventually come out that she tried to strangle America's latest sweetheart, and there would have to be a trial, and while she looked great in orange, she prefered jeans over jumpsuits, so…

She threw a salt shaker at him instead.

Much classier, and not even illegal.

"Hey!" His hand whipped out and caught it before it hit the middle of his forehead, but not before a slight shower of salt coated him over. And for some reason, the bastard was _still fucking grinning. _"Nice catch."

"Nice reflexes," She retorted, wishing they hadn't been.

"Nice eyes," He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Somehow, even sitting in salt and making ridiculous faces, he managed to look droolworthy.

"TELL ME WHO GOT THE PART, JACKSON OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL DO MUCH WORSE THAN COVER YOU IN CONDIMENTS."

It was safe to say the entire diner was staring at them now.

"Alright, alright," He paused for a moment. "Just answer me one more question." He. Was. Going. To. Die. "This premier. You have a date?"

Annabeth hesitated, hands twitching beneath the table top. She knew where he was going with this. But still… she had to know. "No," She gritted out finally.

"Then in that case, I will tell you if you got the part," He paused for dramatics, waiting to deliver the final blow. "But only if you agree to take me. As your date." He was still grinning, maddeningly enough, but there was hesitation in it. The slightest bit of uncertainty lodged in that toothy grin. Vulnerability. He didn't think she would say yes. She wondered if perhaps this i-don't-care city boy attitude was part of his gimmick. If maybe this boy actually _felt _something other than the desire to drive other people to near madness.

Then again, unlikely.

She bit her lip, rocking back on her heels. "Fine," She snapped after a second. What's the worst that can happen, right?

He looked shocked for a moment. "You – what? Yes? But… I…." He looked at her oddly. "Are you sure?"

"Aren't you the one who just asked me to go with you?" Seriously? He was _questioning _it now?

_AND WHEN WAS HE GOING TO TELL HER IF SHE GOT THE GODDAMNED PART?_

"Right, well," He scratched the back of his neck. "Guess I didn't really expect you to say yes."

So she was right. THAT was to be expected. The sudden lack of confidence wasn't, however.

"So I can take it back?" She said drily.

"Well, I didn't say that," He backtracked quickly, eyes wide.

"JUST TELL ME." She cuffed him around the head, head about to explode. SHE DIDN'T CARE WHO SHE WENT WITH, SHE JUST WANTED TO KNOW. AGH.

"Okay, okay, Jesus!" He rubbed where she hit him, looking surprised at her outburst (not like he didn't have it coming) and just a little hurt. "Yes, alright? You got the part, okay?"

Annabeth stood there in complete and utter silence, mouth gaping. The waitress, who had so far hovered uncertainly around the booth, bordering on banning them from the restaurant entirely or letting the A-listers stay and just selling the story the press later, cleared her throat.

"Look, y'all, I don't want to be a Debbie downer, but -"

Annabeth cut her short by letting out an entirely undignified squeal and tossing her arms around the other girl. "I got the part!" She squealed again, grabbing her bag from the booth. "I got the part!" She repeated, looking completely shocked. "I have so many lines to memorize!" She ran from the diner without another word. Percy sat alone in the booth, absolutely stunned. The waitress looked woozy on her feet.

"Annabeth Chase just hugged me," She said stupidly, collapsing into the booth across from him, her eyes looking glazed and far away.

"I know," Percy replied, eyes equally glazed over. "I think I have a date with her."

At this the waitress snapped out of her starstruck faint. "Wait a second," She snapped her fingers. "Aren't you Percy Jackson?"

_A/N: I'm trying to have the next couple of chapters out really quick, but no absolute promises. It's competition for me – between journalism, orchestra, and debate, I don't really have a lot of time. I promise I won't give up on this story, guys. Aghhh. Anyway, leave a review because it would make my day and add to my fuel :D! Hope each and every one of you are super well and totes fab. (sorry, I'm trying to get away from the valley girl talk and it isn't working) Anna x._

_PS: The next chapter will probably be the best of what I have so far. (And the longest!)_


	6. Friends

Perfectly coiffed hair hung in delicate ringlets, softening Annabeth's typically ardent face, the rest pinned up into something like a cross between a French braid and a bun. The dress Silena had picked out for her hugged her frame before elegantly transitioning into a flowy ball gown, the shimmery coral color catching the light at the folds. She sat completely still, hands held lightly in her lap, posture absolutely perfect, as a team of three buzzed around her, arranging the little wisps of aureate strands that had escaped from her intricate braid and carefully making up her face. Thalia stood a little off to the side, watching the process and clutching a coffee and a phone. She spoke loudly to someone who had evidently messed up an order, pacing back and forth in front of Annabeth. She paused, rolling her eyes apologetically at Annabeth before gesturing to the phone and stalking out of the room and onto the balcony, still arguing. Annabeth felt a sympathetic pang for the person on the other end.

Annabeth's own phone buzzed, rattling loudly on the table beside her. Annabeth – trained pro that she was – stayed completely still, in case she somehow disturbed her make up or hair. One of the stylists reached out for it instead, placing it in Annabeth's hand. Careful not to move her chin, she undid the password and checked her messages. She had a couple from Silena, just simple commentaries and suggestions about what shoes she should wear with the dress. Annabeth wondered why this would be important if no one would be able to see them. Silena, as if expecting her pragmatic response, sent one immediately after, saying, "Just in case – you never know when you might have to lift your dress! Wear the gold ones! Luv, Silena!" Annabeth really had to talk to her about her excessive punctuation.

The newest message wasn't from Silena, however. She hesitated, thumb over the notification. She'd been apprehensive about giving out her phone number to him, but seeing as they would be working together…

_This suit will be the death of me, I swear. If I suffocate from the corporate-ness of it before I get to your flat, feel free to take the car and find some indubitably less hot guy to take my place.  
Tell my mother I love her,  
Percy_

Her lips curved in a nearly imperceptible smile at the thought of free thinking, easy-going Percy squirming around in a suit. The stylist working on her lips noticed however, swatting her phone from her and reaching around her for a wet wipe to get rid of the accidental excess gloss. She blushed beneath her concealer, pushing back that traitorous mental image and tried to ignore the quiet thought that Percy really would look magnificent in a tux.

Ten minutes later, the last curl had been secured and severely hair sprayed, her eyeliner had reached perfection, and her shoes had been located and put on (gold with rosy straps and a tall heel, because even if it was a little annoying at times, you'd be a fool to ignore Silena's advice on anything romance and fashion).

Thalia came back from that particularly _loud _call, just in time to hand Annabeth a clutch that contained all the necessities and shoo her out the door as a shiny town car pulled up in front of the building. It wasn't like the limos she'd normally taken, it was adorable and… oddly enough, sophisticated.

_Well at least he didn't turn up driving a beat up pick-up truck, _she thought, trying to swallow past her dry throat. Ever since their latest diner excursion (probably the last considering the events that had gone down) she'd been panicky and worried. It wasn't as if she'd actually believed he would do something to embarrass her, but… well, to be honest, her stomach had been in twists ever since that audition. And, well, she kind of loved the car. _Get over it, Chase. No one's going to be looking at you anyway._

This was true, if depressing. While she was considered somewhat of an American sweetheart, she was no Percy Jackson or Silena Beauregard. Hell, she wasn't even a Clarisse La Rue. She thought bitterly of the fierce actress whose bluntness and overall attitude drew stares every where she went – the ace acting skills and third degree black belt certainly didn't hurt either.

It didn't even matter that none of those people were actually in the movie that was premiering and that she was. It was like Thalia said, the press was bored. They had been bored for a while. Just plain old Annabeth Chase in another supporting role. _Well, that's about to change._ Empowered by the thought and the sudden wave of adrenaline it brought, she stepped out from beneath the building's awning and dismissed the dull throb in her chest as pre-premier panics. She tried not to think about how it continued to throb in an _entirely _different manner when the sleek door opened and out stepped Percy Jackson looking like… well, the million bucks he'd undoubtedly make from this movie. His suit was gorgeously tailored, accenting his broad shoulders and lengthy legs. A skinny orange tie (Thalia or Silena must have texted him what she was planning to wear) hung loosely around his neck and he wore a white shirt beneath, with the top button undone. His hair, shining the dim light streaming through the lobby's glass doors, was tousled in a way that made Annabeth want to run her fingers through it. He was_…_

"_Extraordinarily sexy,"_

Annabeth blinked. "Wh- what?" She cleared her throat, feeling suddenly insecure about her bare shoulders and the excessive cleavage the dress provided.

"I look pretty hot, right?" Percy grinned, winking and reaching forward to touch lightly on the small of her back to guide her –and her giant gown – into the car.

The laugh that squeezed itself out of her throat was manic, and a little bit high-pitched (as in five octaves above Mariah Carey's highest note, "little bit high-pitched"). "Nice to see you haven't gotten a big head." She managed to retort, ducking her head and averting her eyes as she slid into the back seat, overly conscious of the hand on her back, the warmth burning through the thin fabric.

He slid in effortlessly after her. The town car began rolling smoothly out of the drive and onto the avenue. "In all seriousness though," She looked up from adjusting her dress – which took up approximately half the seat – and saw him watching her, green eyes sweet and sincere. "You look gorgeous." Her cheeks felt warm.

"I'm aware," She said breezily – the exact opposite of how she felt. He laughed, sounding equal parts amused and surprised. _Keep it professional, Chase._

"You always know just what to say to throw me off," He teased just as the car jerked to avoid a collision with an car making an illegal right turn. Annabeth gasped, nearly thrown off the seat as she flew forward. Automatically, Percy's arm went out to catch her, waiting until she was completely steady to let go. _Well the professional thing just went to hell._

"We should put on our seatbelts," She said, reaching behind her.

"Who wears seatbelts anymore?" Percy grinned. She envied how easy going he looked, lounging beside her. She remembered faintly that he was from New York City. Guess the subway didn't really come with such preventive measures.

"People who want to live," She snapped, but withdrew her hand regardless.

"Ah, I'll always catch you." His eyes sparkled faintly in the darkness of the car. She clenched her jaw.

She had known that this flirtatious new stranger would spend the entire time trying to get into her pants, but this wasn't anything new to her – she'd attended public school before, you know – but this was different. She could barely look at him, all (gorgeously) rumpled and flirting with her like they were… like… like he _knew _her. Which, she pointed out angrily to herself, he didn't.

"Stop the car!" She snapped to the driver who pulled over in front of a half-lit bakery. Percy opened his mouth to protest, eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" She took a deep breath.

"I can't do this." He frowned.

"You can't do what?"

"This!" She gestured vigorously between the two of them, certain he was pretending to be dense. "I don't know if this is just your personality, or if you're just doing this to get under my skin -" he made a noise of protest which Annabeth readily ignored. "Or if you're genuinely infatuated with me, for reasons I _clearly _am incapable of understanding, but this flirting _has got to stop._" Percy stayed completely silent, watching her. The driver coughed awkwardly. She went on. "I don't know you, but we're going to be working together soon, and it has to be _professional. _I can't date my costar – not that I have any urge to -" She added that last bit for clarity, ignoring the look in Percy's eyes. "I'm only doing this to honor my word, okay? Nothing more." She turned to face the front, hands clasped in front of her, face burning.

The two – three, sorry driver – sat in silence for a moment. "Oh! Sorry, we can go now." Annabeth added awkwardly. The driver continued the journey. Percy looking distinctly less easy-going now out of the corner of her eye, cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable," He said, sounding strained and uncomfortable himself. "I will… keep it professional if that's what you want." He ducked his head. "I would like, if it's at all possible, to be friends though." Annabeth softened.

"Yes, of course that's possible." She said. "Just… lighten up on the flirting, okay? I'm sorry for kind of blowing up." His posture relaxed and he smiled.

"You were completely in your rights," He said politely, and changed the subject. "So how much do you want to bet that someone shows up drunk and flashes someone on the carpet?"

She couldn't help it – she laughed.

Xx

"Annabeth, look over here!"

"Jackson – is that Jackson?"

"Chase! Chase, over here!"

"Beautifully tailored dress with subtle gold accents – oh look at those heels!"

"I LOVE YOU, ANNABETH!"

As soon as she stepped out the screaming got louder. Emboldened and slightly deafened, Annabeth flashed a grin at the paps before taking Percy's offered arm.

"Wow, they really love you," Percy said without moving his lips as they posed in front of an advertising backdrop. She shrugged.

"Come on," She said, guiding him over to a roped off section where a collection of shrieking girls strained to break it, waving autograph books. Percy watched her as she untangled herself from him and half jogged towards them, gladly signing every paper thrust in her face, steadily ignoring the paps who were screaming for her attention. It was only after she had signed every single one that she walked back to him, waving goodbye as they made their way further up the carpet.

"You're amazing at this, you know," He said, in awe of the flashing camera bulbs, and deafening screams.

"Lots of practice," She explained, cocking her head as she stopped and grinned for another round of photos.

It was ten minutes later that they made it near the entrance of the theater and Annabeth had stopped to talk to the first journalist.

"Hi, I'm Evangeline from EW, it's an absolute honor to meet you, Annabeth."

"Likewise, Evangeline." She replied. Percy was extremely aware of how her grin reached her eyes, and the feel of her arm in his.

The reporter honest to God blushed. "And who is this?"

Annabeth hesitated for the first time since Percy had helped her out the car. "This is… my date. Percy Jackson," He looked up from watching the way her delicate mouth formed his name and forced a smile at the journalist.

"Hey there," He said, before turning back to Annabeth.

They stood there for a while, with Percy adding little bits to the conversation every once in a while before the reporter excused herself to interview Clarissa something or other and the pair made their way out of the public eye and into the theater.

"Well that was fun," He said offhandedly, trying to ignore the cold loss of Annabeth's arm around his.

"Yeah," She said. "I guess the novelty's kind of gone for me now." She paused. "It's interesting to see what a splash you make though," She smiled slightly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"I mean half those screams were for you," She said. "And that journalist could hardly take her eyes off of you, could she?" Percy frowned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of _course you don't._" She rolled her eyes playfully. "Seriously though, if you're looking to get laid any of those women would gladly put out for you." She laughed and excused herself to go to the ladies room.

"Right," He managed a soft laugh. Right.

Xx

In the half hour they had before the movie showing Percy had met and shaken hands with more than fifty actors, actresses, and directors. "My money's on him." He ducked down to whisper in Annabeth's ear after an unnamable actor finally left them alone to find food.

"What?" She whispered back.

"He's definitely going to flash someone tonight, judging on how much he was swaying on his feet. And if how much he was flirting with you was any indication, I'd say it's most likely going to be you. Or Jennifer Aniston," He added as they watched him lurch forward and grab poor Aniston's boob for support.

She giggled beneath her breath. "Stop it!" She whispered between her fits.

"Oh come on, just think about it," He mimed the guy 'accidently' dropping his pants on the carpet. She was full out laughing now, and trying very hard not to be.

"I'm being stared at," She whispered, admonishing him.

"Look, I'm not the seasoned vet here, but isn't that a good thing?" He put on a cheeky grin and waved to those nearest to them, who were indeed openly staring.

"Hey guys, can't wait to see this movie right?" He said loudly. Some of the starers blushed and looked away, others cheerily shouted back responses. One of those responses came from Silena who bustled forward to greet them.

Percy hung back as the two conversed, and sat on the other side of Annabeth when they went in to see the movie.

The movie itself was… amazing. The plot was nicely played out, the dialogue was good…

The shining spots, in his opinion at least, weren't the really emotional parts at the beginning when the main character lost her mother in an accident, but when Tessa, Annabeth's character, laid the flowers on her grave, or the part where Tessa stayed with Roger as he lay dying instead of leaving him behind and when she finally got shot herself. He wouldn't admit it if you'd ask, but he cried a damn river at that last part, annoyed when the shot was cut short to go back to the main characters' (who were far less impressive) own happy ending.

Annabeth squirmed silently beside him, critiquing and squirming during her parts.

Afterwards he stood at her side as she received – the well deserved – never ending stream of praise. When the unnamable actor came back – somehow even more smashed then before – to give his respects, he tilted his thumb to his mouth miming out a scene behind his back as she tried to suppress her laughter.

They suffered through boring after party after another – who invited all the boring stuffy people? – and finally left at five in the morning. The ride back was peacefully silent, Annabeth barely able to sit up straight as she lay in her now crumpled gown, head resting on his shoulder.

"That was fun," She said dreamily as they pulled up to her building. She smelled sweet and floral as her curls pressed against his cheek. He hummed in response, nestling his head against hers. They car rolled to a smooth stop, and he carefully extracted himself to open the door for her. She yawned and crawled out. Her eyeliner had rubbed away during the night and as soon as they'd gotten back in the car she had undone her hair with a few harsh tugs and it fell wavy and curly around her shoulders. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he walked her up to the door and handed her off to the doorman. She could barely walk on her own. He guessed she was a stranger to all nighters. She gratefully took the doorman's arm, shuffling into the building with her heels dangling from one hand. She stopped before heading inside, and turned to smile at him. The moonlight and the light of the lobby at her back made her look suddenly angelic. "I'm glad we're friends, Percy."

For some reason, his entire chest began to ache with a pang. "Me too," He whispered. She smiled.

"Night, Perce."

"Night, Annabeth." He stood for a long time, the car idling several yards away and the doorman standing uncertainly in front of him. _I'm glad we're friends, too, Annabeth. _He had meant to say. He meant it, he truly, honestly did. Or at least, he could eventually.

_Friends._

_A/N: Woo! The plot's going to start getting thicker now, I promise. Aren't you glad they're friends now? I'm sure Percy is *laughs maniacally* . I run on reviews, guys, seriously. My update's are going to take longer from now on, though, which I'm sure a lot of you guys will appreciate, but my chapters will be longer, too. I'm going to start introducing characters, too, so watch out for that. Also, the whole Grover thing will eventually come to light, so don't you worry about that. I love each and every one of you! Anna x._


	7. Chiron is the biggest shipper ever, okay

"You can't do that," Percy said indignantly.

Annabeth frowned, looking down at her cards. "Why not?"

"It's against the rules!"

Annabeth threw up her hands in exasperation. "I've never heard this rule!"

The pair were sitting in the slightly sticky corner of the diner, cards out in front of them, playing a game Annabeth had never heard of before. Now, as they sat three hands in, she wondered if it was a game at all, or if Percy was making it up as he went along. It seemed every other second there were more rules being added, and quite frankly, it was something Percy would do.

"I didn't mention it? I thought I did. I'm quite sure I distinctly remember telling you before we started." Percy frowned.

"Yeah, well you're obviously out of it, because _you never told me. _Who made up this game anyway?"

He groaned. "My friend Rachel and I like, forever ago." He answered offhandedly. "And just take back your card! You can't play double sixes after someone puts down a wild card."

"_Sixes? _Those are _nines!_"

Percy peered towards the middle of the table at the pile of cards, squinting his green eyes at the two cards on top. "Oops," He said weakly after realizing they were indeed nines. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but not unkindly. "Hey, don't blame the dyslexic." He retorted, returning to his cards before taking out a king and sliding it between the two. Like she said, this game was severely complicated. She raised her eyebrows at this revelation.

"You're dyslexic?" She asked, more out of surprise than clarification.

"Yeah," He replied nonchalantly. The slightest flush overcame him, the tips of his ears pink beneath his dark hair – crazy as ever – and a tinge of color settling over his cheeks. He avoided her eyes, clearing his throat and prompting her to take her turn.

She surveyed her cards before selecting a seven and eight, putting the former at the top of the pile and the latter beneath it. She thought quietly to herself. "I am too," She said after a moment, studiously rearranging her cards.

His head lifted at her admission, eyes searching her face. For a moment she let him.

"I thought for a long time -" She began, not quite sure how to communicate to him the things she wanted to say.

"I know."

She raised her eyes to meet his. Grey met green. Startling met piercing. Rational met reckless, and in those few silent seconds, Annabeth said things she could never quite formulate into words.

Not for the first time the waitress and her throat clearing separated the pair. Annabeth jumped slightly, posture rigid, eyes averted, and face heavily guarded.

Not for the first time Percy looked like he wanted to kill the waitress.

"Do you need a cough drop?" Annabeth had never heard sharper words come out of the sweet, charismatic boy sitting across from her. He was far from sweet at the moment, jaw locked as he leveled a glare at the poor woman that chilled even Annabeth. Almost without thinking she placed a placating hand on the clenched fist laying on the formica table top, glad for the way Percy relaxed beneath her touch.

"I'm sorry. Did you need anything?" Annabeth asked in a far sweeter tone, withdrawing her hand – to Percy's immediate disappointment.

"Do you, um, do you w-want -" The waitress stammered. Annabeth felt immediately horrible. When Percy called her this morning and asked her to meet him at the diner for lunch, she was sure they'd be turned away at the door. In fact, she was already googling nearby eateries on the way there. Fortunately, such a measure was hardly needed, as she walked into the far warmer diner – the weather was finally starting to cool down – and saw Percy already lounging in their usual booth. The waitress was wary, obviously, after the events the last time they had been there, but kind enough – or maybe just a really big fan, she thought. The way she cowered now, turned almost entirely into herself, like a child that had just been chastised, invoked a sudden warmth inside Annabeth towards the waitress.

"Yes, dear?" Now this waitress had to be a decade Annabeth's senior, but at the moment Annabeth felt more like a kindergarten teacher trying to determine who hid the crayons.

The waitress worked out a sentence, however so quietly, she had to repeat it several times before Annabeth could catch the general drift.

"Oh," She turned towards Percy who looked sheepish now. "Do you want a drink?"

"Nothing, thank you," He sent an apologetic smile towards the waitress, but this just made her even worse.

"Same," She said just to give the waitress an excuse to get out while she could.

She turned back to Percy, an admonishing frown already on her face as the waitress shuffled away.

"I shouldn't have done that, I know." Percy said before she could even get the words out. Annabeth snapped her mouth shut again.

"I wasn't going to say that." She said automatically. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you were." Yes, she was.

"When did you get to know me so well?" She teased, but she already knew. For the past two weeks since her premier they spent a lot of time together, mainly just talking about the movie and practicing lines.

Percy merely grinned, glancing down at his phone which suddenly buzzed to life. "Hey, we gotta get going." He said, gesturing to his phone. Annabeth nodded, sliding out of the booth, and pretending that her hands weren't shaking in her pockets.

They were heading on their way to the studios for a meeting with Chiron and some of the producers. Annabeth was nervous and trying very hard not to be. She wondered idly outloud if Mr. D would be making an appearance.

"Only if he can manage to get his fat ass off the couch, I imagine." Percy replied, wrinkling his nose.

She laughed, surprised. "You don't like him, I gather?"

"He… gets on my nerves." He supplied, scowling. She understood immediately. There was just something about his derisive, flippant manner that made Annabeth want to punch him in his pig-like face. She could only imagine the things Percy wanted to do to him.

"I'm kind of surprised you got the part considering he's the casting director," Annabeth said. "You two don't really seem… the compatible type."

Percy laughed. "_Compatible. _Yeah, that pretty much summarises what Mr. D and I will never be. And I think it was the fact that I was so… uncompliant that got me the part." Jack, the character Percy got for the part was basically just as sassy as Percy, except blond. Which got her thinking.

"Are you going to dye your hair?" She asked suddenly. Percy shuddered, running his hand through his hair unconsciously.

"Haven't given it much thought," He responded. "Me as a _blond, _though…" He looked physically pained. Percy glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Are _you?_" Cassie Frey, her part, was distinctly redheaded while she was significantly _not._

"I think the fanbase would hate me if I didn't," She laughed, fingering a lock of curly blonde hair.

"No one could hate you, Annabeth." The assurance and steadiness in his voice when he said this made something in her chest squeeze uncomfortably.

"Well, you obviously underestimate the power of fandom," She teased dismissively. The cab they got rolled up to the gate leading to the lot. Annabeth dug into her bag for her wallet but by the time she finally found it, Percy was out of the car and opening her car door. She looked from him in surprise to the taxi driver who was tucking a twenty into his breast pocket. "You didn't have to do that," She said.

"You can pay me back later," He shrugged, helping her out of the car.

She suspected this wouldn't be the case.

Xx

The meeting went fairly well. Mr. D did not make an appearance, but many more people than usual showed up. There were a handful of producers that wanted to stick around to see what their millions of dollars were doing, Chiron of course, and a couple of gorgeous people Chiron told to wait outside. She wondered who they were. Thalia and some guy Percy introduced as Grover were already waiting there. Thalia appeared to know him too, but… well, something was going on there.

Annabeth hardly had the time to linger on her musings as Chiron jumped right into it.

Thalia and Grover both disappeared to deal with contracts and scheduling moments after the meeting began. The only thing the two actors would have to worry about, he said, was getting ready for filming. "Your agents will debrief you about the specifics once you leave," He said. "I just needed to talk to you both about a favor, so to speak." Annabeth nodded along. Percy fiddled with something in his pocket.

"It's mainly about the premier two weeks ago." This got both their attention.

"I didn't think it was going to be a problem," Annabeth said quickly.

"It wasn't," Chiron clarified. "Quite the opposite, actually. Have you two been keeping up with the media?" The both shook their heads no. The first rule of fame? Don't google yourself. Her publicist dealt with all that, only informing her when something had gotten too big for just her to handle.

"Well, all the Fangirls and journalists have jumped onto what they call 'Percabeth'," He paused waiting for them to catch up. Annabeth caught on immediately. Her stomach found itself twisted into knots.

"Wait – what does this have to do with us?" Percy asked, eyes narrowed.

"Percabeth," Annabeth clarified without looking at him. "Perce, Percy. Beth, Annabeth." When he still looked a bit confused, Annabeth went into more detail. "Everyone thinks we're together. And Chiron… wants it to stay that way." When Chiron didn't make a sound of protest, affirming what she already believed, Annabeth felt close to death. She rubbed her temples. "Our lunch date probably didn't help, did it?" She asked weakly.

"The pictures are already up," Chiron confirmed. He typed something into a laptop and spun it around towards them. There were entire websites once dedicated to just her – now Percabeth fan sites.

"So… you want us… to pretend… we're dating." Percy said, slowly, slowly putting the pieces together. "But… why?"

"It's good publicity," Chiron said, sounding apologetic. "You don't have to do it, but…"

"But we do." Annabeth finished, mouth dry. "Don't we?"

Chiron frowned and looked away. "The producers are… adamant."

Well, if anything, at least the press wouldn't have to worry about her being boring anymore.

_A/N: Hey, darlings. If you've stuck with me this far, thank you dearly. My life's been good, albeit busy, and I hope many of you can say the same. I completely forgot to add an A/N note when I edited this so that's why I went back to re-update this. You're all amazing, and I really, reaaaalllyyyy hope that you consider reviewing. REVIEWS ARE INSPIRATION, MY FRIEND._


	8. Parallel

His chest felt like it was actually going to explode. Like, guts and everything. Spontaneous combustion wasn't too bad of a way to go out, he supposed. He hadn't really heard anything else after his revelation, choosing merely to sit there in complete and stunned silence. His chest ached. His head swam. He couldn't really remember what he was doing there. By the way Annabeth was clutching the arms of her chair and the way she completely avoided his eyes after the meeting had ended had pretty much shown her stance on the proposal. It was more of a demand than anything, if the mentioning of the producers was any indication. Still, Chiron had been kind enough to do the pleasantries and asked them for their cooperation. He waited patiently as Annabeth and Percy mulled over the decision.

Percy knew it wasn't a new concept. Costars dated all the time – and most of the time just for the press.

It wasn't going to exactly be a _sacrifice. _Percy had wanted to be Annabeth's boyfriend since the day he barged into her audition. This should have felt like a gift from heaven! Like the gods were finally answering his prayers!

But…

The look on Annabeth's face told her this was far from a blessing.

Even as she said she would be okay with it – as long as he was willing, too, of course (which he said he was) – her face was a mask of nonchalance and resignation. Not exactly the way he had imagined it.

He basically ignored what was said the rest of the meeting. From what he knew about these things, they were basically the dumbed down version of what the agents got. Grover could catch him up later. The ramblings about hair dye, scheduling, and training were lost in his thoughts. He could only remember the look of Annabeth's resignation, and wallow in the end of their shortlived friendship.

For once, he wished that Annabeth had not gotten the part after all.

Xx

Sweat clung to each strand of Annabeth's curls. The ones that had fallen from the previously tight ponytail she wore were matted against her forehead and cheeks.

"Again!"

Fire engulfed her lungs and enflamed the muscles in her legs. Her back felt like it was about to snap.

"Again!"

Annabeth could no longer remember her last name.

"Again!"

Annabeth honestly couldn't remember anything but pain.

"Again!"

Annabeth was going to kill Charles Beckendorf.

Percy had missed much after falling into pity party. They had received film schedules, been told that they were going to be shooting in New York City (something Annabeth would surely jar Percy out of whatever depression he'd fallen into by the thought of having to date her, even if it was just pretend. He didn't even look up), arranged appointments with their respective stylists, and last of all, training schedules.

For the next month Annabeth would have to get into shape. Not that she was morbidly obese, or emaciated, but she wasn't nearly up to the standards she would have to be for this part. She requested that they move the training up to the afternoon of the meeting, thinking that it would help her clear her mind. And clear her mind it did.

There was no thought but pain and concentration, as she worked her body into shape. It did help to have Beckendorf yelling in her ears. Beckondorf was all smiles and good humor at their first meeting, when he was assigned to her as her trainer, but he as soon as he stepped into the gym he was strictly business.

And to think, Percy had it much, much worse than her.

The thought cheered her slightly.

Xx

Percy was going to die. No, really.

If the pain was any indication, Percy didn't have much time at all.

He supposed telling Annabeth his true feelings would be the thing to do now, so close to his deathbed.

He thought of her crying over his poor, mutilated, overworked body. He imagined those immaculate curls falling into her mourning eyes as she realized that she had been in love with him the entire time after all.

The thought cheered him slightly.

"Again!"

On second thought, maybe he would kill his trainer first.

Xx

Awkward.

The meeting was awkward.

There really wasn't any other word for the way Grover was acting around her.

She didn't think she smelled, or even looked any different from usual. Choppy black hair? Check. Combat boots? Check. Black jeans and t-shirt? Check.

Not that she was expecting balloons and cupcakes, but after so long, you'd think you'd get a warmer reception.

How…

Odd.

Xx

Maybe it was just that they hadn't seen each other in a long time. Or maybe they were just awkward.

…

Yep, things were most definitely awkward.

His pointed obliviousness to the girl sitting next to him hung heavy in the air of the producers office as they chattered on about schedules and hair dyeing, and other even less noteworthy things. He hoped Percy was paying attention, because he sure as hell wasn't.

Guilt.

That was definitely the thing settling heavilly over Grover's chest.

She shouldn't have to be in here right now.

He thought very quietly to himself that she deserved to be out _there_.

Xx

"I think I've lost feeling in my right foot." Thalia rolled her eyes. Annabeth groaned.

"Do you need to be taken to the hospital?" Thalia deadpanned.

Annabeth thought over this quite seriously. "I don't think so. I read somewhere that you don't need to medical professionals until the feeling, or lack thereof, persists for over an hour. I suppose I can make it until then."

Thalia sighed and got up to get her friend and client an ice pack.

When she returned she found Annabeth lying on her back, forehead crinkled as she thought.

"What's wrong, Annabeth?" she asked immediately. You didn't become good at your job without knowing your patient. The whole best friend thing definitely factored in there some where.

"Nothing," said Annabeth immediately, because you didn't become a successful actress without knowing how to throw in a few lies every once and a while.

Xx

"You okay, bro?" Grover asked of his best friend after three days of staying in.

"No," said Percy, because you didn't grow up in New York City without growing a little blunt.

"Oh," Grover said, awkward in his proceeding. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," said Percy, who instead rolled over onto his side and changed the channel, trying to balance a heat pack on his shoulder.

After a moment though, "I'm going to have to enter a fake relationship with the one girl I want to have a _real _relationship with," Grover nodded. "I'm going to have to dye my hair." Grover couldn't tell which he was more miserable about. "_I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHEN FILMING STARTS._"

Maybe he should've listened to the meeting after all.

Xx

"You know the whole pretending to date thing means you're supposed to be seen in public," Thalia said one morning, five days after the meeting.

"I'm too tired to go anywhere," Which was true.

"Well, you have to sometime. And soon." Thalia said.

"I will, Thalia." Which was a lie.

Xx

"Just call her," Grover pleaded after what seemed like years of seeing Percy laying – for once – completely unmoving on the couch.

"I will soon," Percy said, which wasn't a lie.

Xx

Annabeth was staring at a stranger. She was decent looking, with fierce grey eyes, a small mouth, and a fair complexion. Shiny _auburn _curls framed a narrow face and high cheekbones. It was a firey sort of red, more scarlet than reddish-brown.

To be entirely honest, Annabeth looked kind of hot as a redhead.

Xx

Some where in the flat a phone rang, the tune too cheery for Annabeth's taste. Her muscles still ached, her forehead was still slightly red from yesterday, making her look slightly sunburned, and she still had three quarters of a script to memorize.

_Come on world. One day without Annabeth Chase shouldn't be too much, should it?_

"Thalia!" It was only after she called for her that she realized that Thalia had gone to arrange some meeting with her stylist.

Gritting her teeth and ignoring the quick flame of pain that shot up her legs for every step she took, she meandered into the living room and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Annabeth…"

Xx

The day was warm, or at least warmer than it had been in the past week. A couple strolled along the pathway of a park, not talking about much in particular… or at all really.

"Take my hand," Annabeth murmured beneath her breath after a while in silence. Percy's eyebrows crinkled in confusion, eyes going wide. Annabeth thought of how they were even greener than the last time she saw him. She had been trying harder to have these thoughts lately. It was to her complete and honest chagrin that she found it too easy.

"What?" He said intelligently.

"There's photographers over there," She explained, lilting her head slightly towards a pair of paparazzi under the guise of looking up at the afternoon sky. He couldn't even pretend to look for them, watching her instead.

The high sun lit up her raised face, highlighting the height of her cheekbones, the smooth plane of her forehead, tracing the curves of her pink lips. Her newly scarlet hair shone beneath the light. Silently, Percy reached out and slid his hand into hers, reveling in the softness in her skin. After a moment, Annabeth begun to stroll again, Percy's long strides making up for his delay.

Annabeth, as an afterthought, leaned her head on his broad shoulder. Percy could feel the warmth on his cheeks, and wished it was colder out so he could blame it on the wind.

"So, how's training going?" She said after a moment.

"I think I've never known pain like this before in my entire life," Percy said honestly, his worry that she would think him too weak dissolving as she laughed for the first time in the entire duration of their 'date'.

"I know what you mean," She replied, she winced openly as she took her next step. "It hurts so much to stand, let alone walk."

Percy smiled in relief. "So let's not," He said. He guided her over to a bench, which they both carefully sat on, grimacing at first, but grinning at the relief afterwards.

"I like the new look," He turned to grin at her, reaching out to take a soft ringlet in between his fingers. He hesitated at the sudden intimacy of the moment and dropped his hand. He folded it in his lap, cursing his awkwardness.

"Thank you," she said softly, running a hand through her new hair.

Silence returned.

"Look, Percy, I would really like it if we were to be friends again, -"  
"Annabeth I don't want things to be weird between us -"

They both came to an abrupt stop as they both realized they had begun talking at the same time.

"You first," Percy said.

She took a deep breath and began again, a look of determination on her face.

"We just became friends, and I would hate for that to go away again. I had a lot of fun hanging out with you. I don't have many other friends, understandably, and I don't want to lose you after… everything. I understand how, well, difficult I can be to get along with sometimes, and I can't imagine any reason you might have to even want to talk to me after how dreadful I've been, and after all the awful thoughts I had towards you but I think… despite the circumstances… it might be possible. Y'know, if you – if you want." She added hastily.

The ache in Percy's chest that had found lodging in there far before training began lifted slightly. It was like taking a fresh breath of air for the first time.

"Of course it's possible," He exhaled, grateful that he hadn't been the one to have to say it. Annabeth smiled – genuinely, and squeezed the hand Percy had forgotten she was holding.

"I'm glad." And she really, really was.

_A/N: Hey guys! JKFDJKfdsfjdsklfjdsklL This one was mostly just a bunch of strung together ficlets, except for their little _'date' _at the end. Percy's a little upset that this isn't a real relationship, but he'll get used it... as for Annabeth, well they both think that they're the only one out of the couple that actually want to be there. This entire work is dedicated to my beta, one of the most amazing people in the world, and the person who bullies me into writing when I'd rather just Tumblr: bookish-type-7. She recently wrote the MOST ADORABLE JILY (jamesxlilypotter) FIC SO I SUGGEST YOU GO READ THAT NOW. LIKE RIGHT AWAY._

_In other news, my orchestra concert didn't suck as much as it could've so I guess you could say i'm basically up there with Beyonce._

_Please, please, please x a billion leave a review because I'll love all your faces forever. Also: shout out to those who've stuck with me and reviewed since the beginning. I'm not sure if i'm technically allowed to mention you specifically in my A/N but you know who you are. And i love your faces. _

_ALSO ANOTHER CERTAIN REDHEAD WILL BE MAKING AN APPEARANCE SOON. ALONG WITH A COUPLE OTHER CHARACTERS IM SURE YOU'VE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT. (coughcoughlukecoughcoughrach elcoughcoughsilenamakesanoth erappearancecoughcoughsheget saboyfriendcoughcough)_

_Plus Percy's going to be blond. I'm still coming to terms with this._

_Also yes, the movie is The Mortal Instruments, of which I am a huge fan. That's why they're dyeing their hair, if it was confusing._


	9. Meeting the Fans

Recap: Percy and Annabeth are semi-forced to be in a pretend relationship to bring their attention to their upcoming movie. Both are unhappy merely because they think the other's unhappy. Thalia and Grover meet once again (where had the met before?) and things are awkward. Thalia is oblivious, but something's definitely going on with Grover. They're going to be filming in NYC.

_Ophelia turned the doorknob slowly, carefully, as to not make a sound –_

Annabeth perched on the coffee shop sofa, reading a novel she found lying on one of the tables. It was a shabby place, but one where the windows overlooking the street and the shops on either side of them were so large that they basically only had to turn on their lights after the sun went down. It was right in the middle of downtown LA, which was the main reason Thalia had directed them to the place. As soon as school let out teenagers would be streaming into this place – and lo and behold there they would be. 'They' being Annabeth and Percy, who was playing some sort of space shooting game on his phone. Passing photographers wouldn't even have to strain themselves to take pictures through the limpid windows. Anyone who didn't already think they were dating would definitely by the time they were through with their little publicity stunt. Great.

With difficulty she drew her attention out of her thoughts and focused back on the book.

_Stepping into the room, she found herself in almost complete darkness. She fumbled along the wall next to the doorframe for a light switch. When at last her hand caught against something, a dim lamp at the far end of the commodious room slowly brightened, bringing a dull glow to the decadently decorated bedroom. Immediately following, another in the opposite side of the room began to lighten as well, until three lamps threw the entire room into brightness –_

Beside her Percy was cursing up a storm.

_There were several intricately carved wardrobes lining the scarlet walls –_

"I will fucking destroy you, okay?" Percy swore, thumbs punching angrily at his screen. "You will not fucking live past this day. I swear to God -" He groaned as the screen faded to black and blinking red letters appeared announcing his loss. Annabeth raised a finely plucked auburn eyebrow.

"Do you mind losing more quietly?" She sighed. "I'm trying to read and there's going to be children here any second, whose poor innocent ears do not need to be desecrated by your squalid tongue."

Percy frowned, flushing slightly. He ran a hand through his hair, which of course only made the bedhead worse.

"I don't normally lose," He retorted defensively. She rolled her eyes. Of course, out of everything she just said, that's what he picked up on.

_Sometimes, Percy, you're just so… _

Annabeth smiled to herself and opened her book back up again.

_A large bed lay in the middle of the room, matching scarlet and oak. Breath heavy in the dull silence, she took a few tepid steps until the detailed wooden footboard was running along her fingertips. "Ophelia?"_

A rapid succession of _pew-pew_'s emitted from Percy's phone.

Percy was too involved in his game of space monkeys or whatever the hell it was to notice the looks Annabeth was giving him. Were they really about to get kicked out of _another _restaurant?

However, even Annabeth knew that the likelihood of that happening was low. Their very presence was a neon sign for good business. Even weeks after they left tourists and local schoolchildren alike would still be coming here hoping for a glimpse of them, hoping to sit in the same spots they had. Even the waiter had been by there twice in the last half hour, refilling Annabeth's mocha latte (she was fairly certain that you didn't refill lattes) and sweeping away imaginary crumbs. She considered just giving the guy an autograph and being done with it.

It was only five minutes later that the rickety 'vintage' grandfather clock sitting in the corner chimed to three. Annabeth threw her book back onto the table, reminding herself to tell Thalia to check it out for her at the library. She arranged mussed scarlet locks, carefully smoothing them down. The color was still odd to her, but she was getting used to it. The whole grey eyes thing didn't help much, though. Why couldn't she have been born with green ones, like Percy? Gorgeous green ones, that reminded her of the Meditteranean sea, and hammocks swaying lazily in the wind – not that we're talking about Percy's anymore, of course.

"Showtime," She muttered to Percy, who straightened up at her reminder. The couple – however fake – settled back onto the couch with a practiced nonchalance (this wasn't their first public outing as a couple) just as the first group of students came strolling in.

They were all in navy and white uniforms, a mixed group of five or so guys and girls. They looked about fifteen, sixteen, only a couple years younger than them. The chattered all the way up the ordering counter.

Annabeth caught little bits of their conversation.

"Did you see New Break, yet? Oh my God, it's so great."

"You're just saying that because of Alex Jacob's abs."

"So very true. Well, his abs and Annabeth Chase. She's like, super great."

Percy's cough sounded like a well-hidden laugh.

"You say that about everyone of her movies."

"That's 'cause she is, dipshit. Can't believe she's going to be starring in that movie next fall." The brunette let out a squeal, returned by her friend.

Percy's 'coughing' was growing worse.

"And Percy Jackson! God, he's so freaking hot, I physically can't. They make such a cute couple." Her Asian friend squealed back. These fangirls and their squealing. Oh, Christ.

And of course, Percy being Percy, decided to butt in at this very moment. "Well, I don't know, I guess he's _alright. _I wouldn't say he was _hot _though." He called out loudly, smirking as every eye in the shop turned to face him.

The girls glanced away almost immediately in irritation before double taking, eyes widening. One by one the entire group fell to a hush, a vibrating hum of 'isn't that…?' and 'go ask!'s and her personal favorite, 'but why's she like, ginger?'.

With some prodding, a girl stumbled away from the group and towards them. She was pale – maybe just from seeing them – with dark wavy hair Annabeth immediately coveted. "Uhm, hi, I'm sorry, but…" She hesitated, eyes dancing back and forth. "Are you Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson?"

The next thing Annabeth knew she was signing autographs for a line that stretched outside the door. "These kids sure get the info out there fast," She murmured to Percy, who laughed.

"Damned technology," He teased. "Does this happen every where you go?" He asked in wonder. Annabeth sometimes forgot this was all new to him.

"Basically. You get used to it,"

Percy mumbled something beneath his breath.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing," He said quickly as the next person stepped up.

"Hi, Percy!" The girl bounded forward, wrapping him into a hug like she knew him personally. "Can you sign my boob?" She moved aside her jacket and flashed a bit more skin than Annabeth would bet her mother knew about. Behind her was a mixture of gasps and snickers.

Percy's eyebrows went so far up they nearly disappeared into his hair. "Uhhhhh..." His entire face got rather pink, green eyes dancing around like he wasn't entirely where to look. "I, uhm – uh…" He stuttered. He caught Annabeth's glance out of the corner of his eye. He looked completely and utterly frightened. And for some reason, like he was almost… asking for permission? Whatever. She scoffed, reaching down to cross her 't'. Whatever. It wasn't like she was his mother, for fucks sake. He could make his own decisions. Like not signing trashy sixteen-year-old girls' random body parts and getting so disgusted that he just grabs Annabeth and walks out of there. Not that that's what she secretly wished or anything. Well, she would definitely be behind it. You know, if that's what he wanted.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he gulped and visibly pushed back his nervousness. Actor!Percy was coming out, the one who barged into her audition all insolence and daring. Blushing, sweet Boyfriend!Percy was gone. He ran a hand through his hair and flashed a quick grin. "Sure thing," He replied cooly. Still, Annabeth noticed a slight tremor in his hand as he removed the cap from the sharpie.

She stared, her own line of admirers forgotten as he chuckled nervously and reached forward, sharpie in hand. She watched as he carefully etched his signature onto her skin, hand on her waist to steady himself. She watched until the girl beamed and covered herself up again, the signature disappearing beneath the cloth. "Thanks!" She fluttered her eyelashes at him, and before either Percy or Annabeth knew it was about to happen, she had bounded forward and pecked a soft kiss on his cheek. His ears turned a bright shade of red beneath his hair as he stared after her as she strutted away, hips swaying. When she looked back and blew him a kiss, he blushed harder and mimed catching it. It was a move that would have been cheesy and adorable any other time, but now Annabeth thought he looked ridiculous. Utterly and completely ridiculous. Stupid. Idiotic. Childish.

"Oooh, do me, do me!" Shrieked the next one, leaning over to reveal the tops of her bra.

_Honestly?_ She felt like snapping. _Way to make all teenage girls look ridiculous._

She grit her teeth and focused on the poor girl in front of her who'd been kept waiting by Annabeth's… moment.

Whatever it was.

She didn't care where Percy put that ridiculous pen. Didn't care at all.

X

A/N: Hey! Sorry for the lateness, it wouldn't let me upload for ages. But hey, better late than never! ... Right?

Whatever.

Hey, shoutout to Maddie who's like the best person ever, and helped me rewrite a good chunk of this chapter.

I apologize for the shortness and lack of plot here, but I needed a filler chapter to help smooth later transitions. The next chapter will be up in the next few... days? So stick around.

Love,

Anna.

BUT ALSO: REVIEWS ARE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES SO.

GOGOGOGO.


	10. Meeting the Cast

Annabeth was extremely busy. She had done a few big parts before, but the mania back then was never even close to how it was now. She pinned it all on having the lead part. What she had been pining after all those weeks ago, she totally couldn't recall. Annabeth woke up every morning at six to run before training, did public outings with Percy all morning and afternoon to promote a movie that hadn't even begun filming yet, had fittings and meetings with stylists, writers, directors – in fact, the only people she had met so far were her castmates (sans Percy of course).

This was due to change, and soon. On the schedule Thalia had printed out and pinned on the living room wall, she was going to have meetings the next couple days with the entire cast to do read throughs before they began filming. The entire script would take two days, with every major member of the cast prepared to spend nearly all of their daylight hours cramming everything in. Apparently there had been some complications and the pressure to get everything done in the quickest possible time had suddenly been greatly increased – hence the crunched time. Thalia, like a good agent and a better friend, was prepared to wait it through 48 hours of little sleep, little food, and much acting and revising with her.

Yay. She could hardly wait.

Every part had been casted, but none announced. The directors were going with suspense – and it was working. The only people who had been publically and officially announced were her and Percy, and they both already had swarms of fans buzzing around them. It was like waiting to have your eyes poked out by vultures.  
So far the production had been pretty good about keeping everything else under wraps for all the other parts. She was positively baffled about who she might meet the next day.

Thalia and her had been guessing for weeks. She was still a hundred percent sure Hugh Jackman would factor in there somewhere as the platinum haired bad guy – hey, everyone was dyeing their hair for the part, it could happen. Thalia, however, had reason to believe he was currently working on some other project. She wasn't dropping any major clues, but apparently word on the block was that it had something to do with baguettes and singing.

To distract her from the suspense, she spent the majority of the morning packing. They would be departing for New York City two days after tomorrow. She had been searching the web and calling Percy all morning about what she should pack, what kind of weather to expect, etc. She wanted to be completely prepared. Percy, from what she could tell, hadn't begun to pack at all. More out of laziness than lack of excitement, of course. He was positively glowing with joy the last time she had talked to him, and it only increased with each day that got closer to their departure time.

She couldn't help but get excited whenever he brought it up – it was contagious. He talked avidly about places he wanted to take her, people he wanted her to meet – every time he mentioned her and the city in the same sentence she felt a light buzz overcome her. It was stupid, she knew, that she felt so special that he might want to include her in his old life, but she honestly couldn't control it. She pushed back the thought. Percy was a great friend (albeit greatly frustrating at times), but that was it. When she finished this movie they would have a very public 'break up' and just continue their friendship as it was. That was the plan, and that's was all that is was. Obviously. She was certain she wouldn't be able to handle anything else. And besides… there was someone she had to meet in New York, too.

Xx

Annabeth pushed through the door into the studio exactly five minutes ahead of schedule. Traffic had been lighter than previously calculated. The hallway was dully lit, and plainly decorated. No noise could be detected within. However, as they rounded the corner they spotted a couple walking away from them. One was disheveled, with blonde tendrils of hair sticking up all over the place. The other was a curvy young woman with long dark hair, and a bounce in her step. They were whining about something quite loudly. The blonde reached up to tousle his bright locks.

Something in the gesture was remarkably familiar. The slouch in his walk that suggested boredom and the contradicting energy in his stance that hinted at a boiling storm shouted_ Percy_.

But the boy she was staring at was, again, blonde.

Thalia shot her a sideways glance, confused too.

Thalia, Percy, and her had spent a lot of time together lately. She had also spent some quality time with Percy's agent, Grover, but not a lot with the four of them together. Grover was always really busy. Both Annabeth and Thalia weren't really buying it – not by the third time, at least – but Percy claimed ignorance. Knowing the guy, he probably wasn't faking it.

"Ah, hold on, I think I forgot something," The boy said, turning around. He had only taken a couple of steps towards them before he froze. "Annabeth! Hey, Thalia." He closed the gap between them, and halted awkwardly a foot away. He seemed to remember the hair. Percy rocked back and forth on his heels awkwardly. "Erm, hi. Again." Cue hair ruffle.

"Percy -" Thalia began, in awe.

" – You're blonde." Annabeth finished, mouth dry.

"Erm. Yes."

There was a beat of silence.

And then Annabeth burst into laughter, Thalia right behind her. She was nearly doubled over, her stomach aching. "I'm sorry -" she managed to rasp out between bouts.

"You're just so -" Thalia spluttered.

"Blonde, yes, thank you." Percy said, looking affronted. Annabeth was nearly done when the girl turned back too, alerted by Annabeth's less-than-kind laughter.

It was Silena, her dirty blonde hair suddenly coal black.

It was quite an odd scene, as if the two had swapped hair colors. Really, really odd.

"You know, we didn't laugh when you had to dye your hair," Percy quipped, looking a tad bit hurt.

Before Annabeth could apologize (I'm sorry but – Percy? Blonde? Who wouldn't laugh?), another figure came rolling into the hallway from the direction the pair had been heading to. Her laughter subsided rather quickly after she saw who it was.

It was Chiron, eyebrow arched. "Annabeth, Thalia, I'm glad you're here. Once you've gotten a hold of yourselves, if you would follow me, please." He began to roll back down the hallway. Percy, now grumbling, followed, hands shoved into his pockets. Annabeth was hit with a soft jab of guilt.

"I didn't think I looked too bad," Silena said in a small voice, now smoothing down her already perfect dark hair. She was still striking, the contrast of her darker hair color highlighting the contours of her heart-shaped face and kind eyes.

"You don't," Annabeth was quick to say, feeling especially terrible at her breakdown. "It was just a bit of shock is all." Although, now that she thought about it, Percy hadn't looked too terrible himself. The trio went back down the hallway, Silena feeling a bit more assured.

The hallway opened up into a large room – the kind you would hold eighth grade graduations and awkward bar mitzvahs in. It was square, and white, with big plastic fold out tables stretching along like a large dining hall. It was nearly full, and buzzing.

Which reminded her. "Silena," she began in an odd voice as realization began to hit. "What're you doing here anyway?"

She smiled slyly. "Well, I guess I can tell you now that we'll be working together – Hello, Annabeth, my name is Silena Beauregard and I'll be playing Isabella Driftwood. It's very nice to meet you." She curtsied mockingly, looking rather impish.

Annabeth was stunned. "You – you're going to be playing in this movie?" Silena grinned, flipping back her dark hair.

"Honestly, I'm surprised the great, brilliant Annabeth has taken so long to realize it." Now that she thought about it, Silena had been dropping hints the entirety of the last three weeks about getting a good part in a big upcoming movie. She had also put on a lot of muscle lately for the part. With the silky dark hair and the lithe physique she looked less fairy tale princess and more lethal assassin. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, you know," she twisted her mouth to the side, and waved her hand around. "Contracts, and legal jargon. You're not mad at me, are you?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Are you kidding me? I'm just glad I'll be with you for the next couple of months." She grinned. "As long as you don't drag me shopping while we're in the city."

Silena looked suddenly pained. "But… Burberry!"

Chiron came up before Silena could pull out her puppy dog face, thank the gods, with two boys in toll.

"Girls, I'd like you to meet Travis Stoll and Ethan Nakamura. You four get acquainted quickly before we begin in," he checked his watch. "Ten minutes."

The lanky, dark haired boy that Annabeth took for Travis grinned and extend a warm hand, which Annabeth shook. "Hey! I'm playing Alex, and he's playing Magnum, my lover." He waggled his eyebrows at his companion, pretending to swoon. Annabeth decided she liked the guy.  
Ethan scowled, cheeks brightening, before stomping off back to the tables. "He's shy," he informed them brightly.

"I'm Annabeth, and this is -"

"Silena Beauregard." He dipped his head in a flourishing bow. "We've met." He grinned, and it had a mischievous sort of air.

She merely sniffed and turned to flounce away to find a spot at the tables as well.

"And then there were two."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I be running away too?" The look on his face was so hurt, you would've thought Annabeth had just run him over with her car.

An immediate feeling of guilt rushed over her before the cheerful expression bounced back and it was made clear he had just been joking.

Damn. Boy could act.

"Nah. Ethan's just grumpy, and as with your girl…" He smiled and dropped a wink. "I suppose you could say Silena and I have a bit of a past."

Silena had a 'bit of a past' with just about every cute A-lister in Hollywood. It wasn't that she was a flirt, or slept her way to fame – she honestly just fell in love with everyone. For the first time, Annabeth felt nearly envious of her.

Travis and her conversed for a bit about the pains of hair dyeing (he'd previously been blonde) before he wandered off on the search of food, and her in search of a particular bedheaded (now) blonde.

She found him a minute later two seats away from Silena, with an empty one in between. They beckoned her over wildly as Chiron prepared to begin the read through. She just barely slid into the seat when it began.

Chiron cleared his throat and began to read the opening director's notes.

Annabeth took a deep breath – even though she knew her lines weren't for a couple pages, and that she had them all memorized, she could feel her pulse quickening.  
She eyed Percy out of the corner of her eye, and saw him, for once, completely concentrated on the script. There was no sign of tension in his body, except for the slightest crease in his brow as he followed along, and his eyes, brilliant green, creased slightly in the corners as he concentrated. Even without looking up, as if he could feel his eyes on him, she felt his hand slide into hers, squeezing just tightly enough to be reassuring. She could feel her pulse quicken slightly at the shock of his contact, then slow as she focused on the familiarity of his hand in hers. It was as if all of the tension she had in her, all the pressure of not screwing up her big chance just… ebbed away, into Percy where it couldn't touch her and where it would surely be tucked away where it couldn't hurt either of them anymore.

Chiron stopped every few seconds to make minor corrections here and there, and when it came time for her to deliver her first lines, her pulse was completely back to normal.

She was no longer trapped in the white walls of the studios, or under the scrutiny of a thousand new faces – she was Cassie Frey, the brave redhead with angel blood in her veins. The words came to her like they were her own, and with Percy beside her, it could have actually been them in the script.

By the time they were done with the first scene, the entire room was breathlessly quiet. Annabeth could feel herself pulling away from the script and back into her own body. Percy was staring at her. In fact, the entire room was staring at the two of them.

Surprisingly enough, it was Mr. D, tucked away into the corner, who broke the silence.

"So," he said smugly, his eyes on the pair. "Does anyone have any more goddamned doubts about my casting now?"

Xx

A/N: HEY GUYS. I keep not updating for longer and longer periods of time, so I'm sorry about that.

Thanks go to Maddie, my beta. Cookies go to her. Not literally. Sorry, darling.

I know I said that you'd be meeting Rachel soon, but I PROMISE IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.

Reviews make me update faster...

You know...

If you want...

Love, Anna.

PS:

Quick note: I changed my username to Combustspontaneously! Also, just a reminder that I read all of your reviews and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and productive on the inside. Also, if anyone wants to attempt fanart of blond percy, red headed annabeth, or really anything, feel totally totally free. Also I would love you 5ever.


	11. Chapter 11

(Due to schedule changes, all the filming was to be done in New York City, much to Percy's joy)

There were fundamental differences between New York City and Los Angeles.

First: The Weather.

By the time the plane arrived carrying Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, Silena, and several other cast mates (they were all taking different flights, of course) to New York, the sunshine had given way to storm clouds. Though the weather had been steady in the 70's back home in California, winter hadn't yet departed this far north. The air was dry, a rasp of unforgiving cold in Annabeth's lungs before the wheels even touched the runway. Percy, seated in the aisle, took advantage of the last couple moments by reaching up into the overhead compartments to pull out a heavy sweatshirt he immediately presented to Annabeth. She blinked at the thick grey cloth in his hands, staring at the printed navy text declaring the wearer an alumni from something called a _Yancy._

"What's this?" she asked, regarding the sweatshirt Percy had thrust at her.

He busied himself with his knapsack. "A sweatshirt,"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. I mean, why am I holding it?"

He sighed. " Los Angeles _warm. _New York City _cold._" he said with exaggerated patience, as if she were a particularly slow first grader. "Last time I checked, you didn't bring anything on board but your tiny purse, and if you don't put something on over that," he gestured to her sheer tank top and skinny jeans. "Your Californian blood is going to seriously freeze over."

"Oh," she said. As an afterthought, she pulled the sweatshirt over her head, shimmying into it in the small space the airplane seats provided. "Thanks." he shrugged.

Percy himself was only wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans. "You're not going to be cold?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"I grew up in Brooklyn, Chase. I can handle a little chill." She opened her mouth to say that she could handle herself just as well (even though that was a transparent lie) when Thalia leaned over the aisle to tell them to go.

Annabeth grabbed her bag and got ready to disembark.

Second: The People.

Behind her, people loudly muttered their dissent at the hold up. Some shot pointed looks at her as she walked out the plane. Others were still sleeping in their seats, some checking facebook and emails from their phones.

You could definitely tell who was a native Californian and who was a city person.

Third: In California, Annabeth was the only redhead that Percy hugged with that much enthusiasm. Or, at least that she knew of.

They had just emptied into the gate, Annabeth feeling very snug and grateful for Percy's sweatshirt. Grover had excused himself to the bathroom, and Thalia immediately went about checking to see if transportation had arrived yet. Percy was just telling her a childhood story involving too much blue icing and a heavy snowstorm when someone called his name from across the airport. She looked like a real life Merida from that Pixar movie, with ridiculous flaming red hair curling around a freckled face.

"Perce!" she hollered, hopping up and down to be seen over the shoulders of two airport security officers who had spotted her trying to approach the famous group and stopped her advance.

A blankness came over Percy's face, before recognition hit and a mile wide grin broke out over his face. "Rachel!" he dropped his duffle bag – onto Annabeth's foot – and half strode half jogged over to her, throwing his arms around the excited redhead.

Annabeth watched as they held on a little bit too long, watched as he set her down, hands still on her shoulders. She, like Percy, was dressing lightly despite the biting cold, in a light cardigan thrown over a little black dress. They were talking animatedly about something too quietly to be heard from this distance, but the grins on both their faces remained even as the little cart pulled up to take them to their taxis.

"Don't worry, Annabeth, I'm sure they're just friends." Silena said at her shoulder, sounding slightly unsure of herself.

"Why would I be worrying? It's not like he's actually my boyfriend." Annabeth slid her sunglasses back over her eyes, despite the fact that they were still in the airport and there was a noticeable lack of photographers. When one spent hours and hours acting on and off the studio, one most often found the charade exhausting. Annabeth just wanted a break from pretending.

Silena bit her lip. "Annabeth -."

She forced herself to grin, a tired, bleached smile that didn't quite reach her eyes – not that Silena could see."The cart's waiting."

Silena frowned but didn't say anything else, just picked up her pink suitcase and followed Annabeth to where Thalia had already claimed shotgun.

By the time they were settled, Percy still remained with his mystery girl. Grover hovered around them. It was clear that he knew her, but obviously not well enough to be included in their reunion. Percy's hands were still on her on shoulders.

When Grover cleared his throat and gestured to the cart, it was as if Percy had forgotten about it all together. He turned and blinked in their direction, his hands dropping lamely to his sides. Annabeth could have sworn he was staring straight at her. She averted her gaze, staring blankly into space above Thalia's head, and keeping her eyes there when Grover climbed into the cart alone.

"He said to go ahead without him," Grover informed them, and the driver went off without any other preamble. It appeared that either everyone was concerned about getting them to the hotel before the storm hit or word got around that they had landed. Annabeth found herself suddenly not caring about either of those things.

Rubbing her hands together, she suddenly noticed she was still wearing Percy's sweater. With a derisive tug, she yanked the offending article off, dislodging her sunglasses. She shoved them both back into her bag.

"Won't you be cold?"

"No," Annabeth lied, already feeling a chill.

Xx

As soon as the taxis pulled up in front of some swanky hotel – they needed five taxis to carry them all – three men in the hotel's crisp blue and gold uniform hurried forward, opening the doors and getting the luggage out of the trunks before Annabeth even realized they had arrived.

Two men came out from behind a desk with a trolley-type thing to stack the luggage onto and one addressed Thalia and her.

"Ms. Chase," he inclined his head in a semi-bow. "If you and Ms. Grace would follow me, Mr. Chiron requested a quick meeting with all of you before you both retire." He led them into the lobby and over into a side room, where they were told Chiron would be arriving soon. With another short bow of the head, he left the room.

Annabeth shrugged at Thalia's raised eyebrow. "Is this what it feels like to play a lead role? Because I'm not really complaining," she mused, all wandering thoughts of Percy momentarily forgotten in the glamour of the place.

Thalia scrunched up her nose. "I don't know, I think it's kind of weird."

Silena flounced up to them, dark hair flying behind her. "Isn't this place lovely?" she sighed, clasping her hands in front of her.

Annabeth grinned. It really was, actually. The conference room they were all waiting in was decorated in cream and gold. The furniture and decoration were either completely new or so meticulously cleaned that it appeared that way. The hotel also happened to be strategically placed. It was in a good neighborhood in Manhattan, but small and out-of-the-way enough so that it didn't attract paparazzi. The building itself was remarkable. The smooth arches of its roofs, the way the rooms were organized and the floors were layered – it was beautiful. She reminded herself to wake up earlier to try and get a better look around.

"Hey, when did the plane before us get here?" Silena asked Thalia.

Thalia was one of only two agents/non-actors in the room. The producers weren't paying for anyone's entire entourage to stay, and in fact, most agents worked from offices and over phones and video chats. The only difference was Annabeth was Thalia's only client and best friend. At twenty, she was also one of the youngest agents out there. She had grown up around Hollywood and had done some small acting jobs before she met Annabeth on the set of an old TV show she used to do, but stopped acting once she was sixteen. Annabeth never found out why she stopped, but any time she asked, Thalia just shrugged and told her she preferred working behind the scenes.

"Five thirty or so? How should I know?" Thalia snapped. Silena blinked at her, baby blue eyes wide.

Annabeth felt a sympathetic pang. "Thalia, don't be mean." she said softly to her friend. "She's just tired." The last part was directed to Silena who shrugged easily.

"It's fine, we all are." she yawned as if to prove this point and looked around the large room. Several of the others, Travis and Ethan included, had taken to lounging on some of the furniture – though far from each other. Ethan skulked in the corner, picking at his nails, while Travis was surrounded by people as he perched lazily on the edge of the conference table. She wondered how _that _was going to work out on camera.

"I really need to get a new agent," Silena muttered.

"What's wrong with your current one?" Annabeth asked, surprised.

"She's fine, really. It's just… I get the feeling she doesn't really like me." Annabeth cleared her throat very loudly at this point to cover up some less than nice muttering from Thalia that sounded something like a sarcastic 'what a surprise'. "I can't really work like this, you know?"

Annabeth nodded sympathetically. "Maybe Thalia can recommend some people she knows to take on the job?"

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." Thalia muttered darkly.

"What was that?" Silena asked brightly.

"She said she'll ask around." Annabeth interceded.

Silena beamed. "Thank you, Thalia!" she wandered away shortly after that to go listen to whatever story Travis was telling.

"What was that all about?" Annabeth asked once she'd gone, glaring at Thalia.

"She's just so… _chipper._" she shuddered.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm not telling you to become best friends with her and cuddle up to watch _The Vow _or anything, but I don't like you being mean to my other friends."

Thalia sighed and muttered a reluctant 'okay' before the doors opened and Chiron rolled in.

The entire room went quiet.

"It's good to see you're all settled." He eyed Travis, who cleared his throat and slid off the tabletop. "I'd like you all to reconvene here for dinner in about two hours, so I advise you all to try and unpack and relax before then. I would ask you all to stay within the hotel as we're filming early tomorrow morning, but with this storm rolling in, that hardly seems necessary. You will, of course, have more freedom after today, but I think we would all prefer if we all make it at least one day before someone shows up to work hung-over." Again, he glanced a little too long at Travis, who merely made an innocently confused face.

Chiron rolled his eyes and dismissed them. Annabeth walked out of the room feeling like a child who'd just been told off.

The blue and gold-clad men were waiting for them at the door. One stepped forward to take them to their room. They were on the highest floor in what appeared to be the nicest suite Annabeth ever stayed in. The main room included a kitchenette, some couches, and a flat screen TV. Off to the side was Annabeth's room, which was furnished lavishly. Thalia's was nearly as nice. The structure was vaguely Greek, with high arches and columns dispersed heavily throughout.

She wondered what Percy's suite looked like. She vaguely thought about picking up the phone and telling him to be back before dinner, but decided against it. It wasn't as if she was his mother, or god forbid, his actual girlfriend.

What a ridiculous notion.

Xx

By dinner he still hadn't shown up.

Chiron had noted the absence but just shrugged it off. "He's just catching up with friends. I have confidence he'll be back soon." a part of Annabeth wished he would be more upset that he was missing.

She spent the hour half-listening to Thalia and Chiron discuss filming details, and watching Travis flirt with every girl at the table (except for her, she noticed) while simultaneously shoveling food into his mouth and arranging the food he had yet to inhale into funny shapes and faces on his plate. He was like a four-year-old pervert. She decided she liked him.

Silena took the seat in front of Annabeth and next to Travis, but was now sorely regretting it. She watched his motions with a look of mixed revoltion and amusement.

Ethan was way less pleased with the seating arrangement. He had the misfortune of arriving much later than the rest and had to take the seat directly across from Travis. He watched – or rather, tried not to watch – as half of the East coast's food supply was sucked up into Travis' surprisingly still lanky body.

"Oh, come on." he sighed after both Ethan and Silena fled after half an hour. "You appreciate me, don't you?" He looked over at Annabeth with the sweetest puppy dog face she'd ever seen.

She just rolled her eyes. "Sure thing," she said before turning back to her plate and finding the last éclair she nabbed gone. "You really know how to burn your bridges, Stoll." She glared down the dark haired boy, who merely licked the cream off of his fingers happily.

Jerk.

The hilarity of the dinner ebbed away significantly after that and Annabeth was struck with the oddness sense of emptiness, despite the full dinner in her stomach.

After a while she excused herself too, going up to the quiet room she would be living in for the next three months. With everything unpacked and done within minutes (thanks to a system Annabeth had thought up ages ago) she drew back the curtains from the windows and sat back down on her bed. The sun had set early, blanketing everything in a soft light.

The quietness of the room seemed to seep into her pores, the loneliness crushing over her in waves. All along these hallways were people. Five steps away she could reach Thalia, her best friend in the entire world. So why did she feel so alone?

She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes.

This wasn't like her.

She was strong. Smart. Rational. She didn't get emotional about stupid stuff like this.

The silence permeated by only her heavy breathing grew to be too much.

Without thinking, she reached over into the side table and snapped up her phone. She punched in the numbers without pausing to think – she knew them by heart now – and left her thumb hovering over the green 'talk' button.

_Don't be irrational, Annabeth._

Clenching her jaw, she pushed it and did what she had told herself not to do earlier.

It rang three times, each time more torturous than the last.

Finally, she heard his voice on the other end.

"Annabeth?" he sounded bewildered.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was suddenly struck by a bout of speechlessness.

What was she supposed to say to him?

That she was lonely and wanted him to come right back and keep her company?

_Don't be ridiculous._

"Annabeth? Are you alright?_" _Percy's voice grew worried and her lips curved into a small smile.

"Of course I am, seaweed brain," she said finally. She fished for something to say. "I just wanted to let you know… that we film really early tomorrow."

What a stupid thing to say.

His confused silence grew. "Well… thank you?"

A quiet voice – Rachel's voice – asked something from the background. "It's Annabeth," came his reply.

There was a pause and some unintelligible talking before Percy came back to the phone.

"I just.. wanted to make sure you didn't show up late on your first day." she said quickly. "It'd be incredibly like you to see a limping dog on your way back and spend the night in the vet's ER."

He laughed, and the soft, rich sound filled Annabeth with warmth. "Gee, thanks," he teased. "Anyway, thanks for checking in. I'm just hanging out with some old friends – I'll be back before ten."

"Right."

"Right."

There was a pause before Percy spoke again. "Well I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"See you." she was about to hang up when she heard Percy, once again, say something incomprehensible. "What was that?"

Percy paused. "I – nothing. Nothing, Annabeth, sorry. Good night."

"Night."

Annabeth finally hung up, and as thunder rumbled from above she felt lonelier than ever.

A/N: Hey guys! A lot of issues happening lately. I originally planned something completely different for this story, but ended up having to go back and change it all, so my apologies for the delay. Again, thanks to Maddie, my darling editor.

Please note my change in pen name!

Reviews are almost as great as new merch. Like, so close.

Love,

Anna x.


	12. Morning before filming

RECAP: Soon after arriving in NYC, Percy is whisked away by a particular redhead, and Annabeth is less than happy about it.

Annabeth decided that sitting in an empty hotel room and staring at a phone with a blank screen seemed as far unproductive and detrimental to her mental health as she was willing to push it - so she decided to sleep instead.

After all, sleeping seemed to be the only way Annabeth was able to escape from her premature stress nowadays. Not that she wasn't totally grateful for this opportunity to expand her acting skills or anything, she just found herself feeling the pressure ten times more than before. It just came with the job. Surely every actress felt this gut-wrenching sort of pain before starting filming for a major movie with a _huge_ fanbase and sky high expectations. _Gods,_ she thought. _Why didn't I think this through before taking the job?_

Every time she thought about the next morning when they'd actually be filming, she felt a sick knot form in her gut. She'd been able to ignore it before, when Percy was at her side, but now that he _wasn't_…

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on the evening of her breath.

Annabeth was finding it harder and harder to fall asleep lately, and often her thoughts kept her up for hours.

This was one of those nights.

It was like she could feel Percy slipping away from her. She was probably overreacting – for all she knew Percy and Rachel were just friends. Hell, they could be _cousins_.

Taking a deep breath, she burrowed deeper into the hotel's crisp sheets, until even the tumultuous thunder roaring outside faded into background noise and sleep came quickly.

Xx

After being thoroughly shaken awake by Thalia, Annabeth quickly got ready. She dressed simply in a loose white T and a pair of jeans, so the costume designers and stylists wouldn't have trouble getting her in and out of her street to set clothes.

There was coffee waiting for her at the door (a perk of being an actress- no one in the industry survived without caffeine), and together Thalia and Annabeth made their way downstairs. Besides Chiron, they were early and no one else had gotten downstairs yet. One of the ghostly hotel employees appeared silently at her elbow and Annabeth stifled a shriek.

"Would you like some complimentary breakfast while you wait, Ms. Chase?" His voice was flatly polite, without any accent or inflection.

Fingering her necklace to hide her surprise, she followed the man back into the room she had eaten dinner in the previous night, exchanging a look with an equally on-guard Thalia. He gestured her towards a table near the back, where, to her greater surprise, Percy was already sitting.

"Thank you," Annabeth said instinctively.

"Of course, Ms. Chase." The man smiled, his vacant slate-colored eyes staring creepily into the distance. He bowed out of the room.

Thalia tightened her grip on her phone, warily watching the entrance like she would gladly turn it into a deadly weapon if necessary. "I don't trust him." she said, her thin eyebrows narrowing.

"This entire place gives me the creeps," Annabeth admitted. "It's probably just a New York thing though." She thought to the warm, sunny hotels back in LA and their tanned, cheery employees and frowned. If only this damned movie was set in California…

Thalia went off to get food first and Annabeth picked her way over to where Percy was.

"Hey."

Percy glanced up and smiled at her, dimples appearing on his cheeks. "Hey."

To her further surprise and slight relief, his eyes were completely without bruising or dark bags.

"What time did you get in?" Annabeth asked, ignoring the slight pang in her chest. She picked up a piece of charred bacon from his plate.

"Probably fifteen minutes after you called," he said, trying to swat her away. She ignored him; his entire plate was stacked with what looked like half the buffet table after all.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I was too tired to really stick around my mother's anyway. She was basically begging me to go to sleep after I yawned in her face for the third time." He shrugged.

Annabeth's stomach did a traitorous flop after she realized that he hadn't spent the night at Rachel's, or even gone to her place at all.

"I'd love to meet your mom," she commented offhandedly. It was odd; two months ago talking to Percy like this would've felt flirtatious, clingy, and terribly out of character. Now though, it seemed natural; of course she'd want to meet one of her best friend's mother. She rubbed at her eyelids roughly; she'd been woken up repeatedly during the night, never able to deeply fall asleep.

Noticing her fatigue, he pushed his cup of coffee towards her. "She'd love you, of course." Was it just her, or did Percy have a slight flush to his cheeks?

Thalia pulled up the seat to the right of her, a nearly empty plate clattering down onto the only thing Thalia had picked out was a chocolate chip muffin. A delicious looking chocolate chip muffin.

"Oy!" Thalia snapped, snatching the plate from reach. Both Percy and Annabeth's hands had slowly crept toward the muffin.

Sorry, not sorry, both their faces said.

"Klepto," Thalia sniffed.

"I'm sorry, did someone just call me?" Travis sauntered up, winking at Thalia. He was taking a bite out of a muffin – a chocolate chip muffin.

Thalia shrieked a wordless cry of outrage as she looked back down at her empty plate. "You did not just –" Thalia gaped at the plate and back at Travis, as if trying to find a way to properly deliver a death threat. "There are so many _unspeakable_ things I would do to you right now if they were legal, I swear to God, Stoll -"

"Ooh," Travis wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Sounds dirty."

Thalia's face purpled with rage. Beside her, Percy squeaked in fear.

Xx

Twenty minutes later Annabeth and Percy found themselves fulfilling the equivalency of Travis' human shields as they both squeezed in between him and Thalia. Thalia, still fuming sat by the window, clenching and unclenching her fists while muttering some very illegal sounding threats directed to a particular blond on the other side of the car. Travis, on the otherhand, was still picking out pieces of muffin out of his hair, looking extremely amused – not the expression you'd expect of a man who had just been tackled, forcefed a muffin, faceplanted into a buffet table, and yelled at for ten minutes by an extremely irate woman wearing spiked heels. Percy just looked miserable – an expression Annabeth was surely mirroring.

Chiron had already apologized to the hotel and shuffled them all out the door and into the van, offering both Travis and Thalia strict warnings before getting into a car of his own. The car ride was peaceful for the first five minutes before Travis next opened his mouth.

"You know, one can't help but wonder what a woman like you could do in bed -"

Percy groaned.

"You know what, Stoll? I am more than capable of putting this boot up your perky little ass -"

"I _knew _you were into me -!"

Thalia's jaw clenched, knuckles white.

Percy held up a hand. "Thalia – I've got this." Then he turned around and slapped Travis so hard he couldn't speak for the next ten minutes.

Xx

Percy and Annabeth managed to keep the peace for the rest of the car ride.

Well, Percy really held the peace. Annabeth just sort of fought off laughter and irritation. Laughter because of the ridiculousness of Thalia and Travis, irritation because of the pouting coming from one side of the car and the anger emanating from the other.

Percy took his new role of peacekeeper into stride though, turning his (surprisingly fearsome) glare onto anyone who so much as opened their mouths.

The driver did them all the service of running about four red lights (maybe it was just another New York thing?) in his haste to get them out of his backseat. They tumbled out gratefully onto the cracked and weedy sidewalk in front of what looked like a night club in the seedier parts of town. She could recognize an almost identical van parked near the side, but besides that, the street in front of it was empty.

"Um, sir, are you sure this is where we're supposed to get dropped off?" Annabeth spun around, frowning, but the driver was gone, speeding off down the street. Well thank the gods he wasn't there to see the scene at the hotel, then.

She let her irritation at his rudeness roll off of her shoulders as she appraised the building in front of her. The architecture was basic, and the construction was shoddy. Honestly, she wondered how it had survived so long. While she was more than sure the place looked like a great place to get drunk and dance anonymously under flashing lights, but during the day the effect was just sort of pathetic.

Thalia shook out her spiky dark hair and squared her shoulders, leading the pack into the front doors. Travis, finally through pouting, bounced at her heels, and Annabeth followed much more reluctantly. Percy shrugged at her.

Inside, the lights were dim and once Annabeth's eyes adjusting she found herself blinking back at the sheer number of people currently inside the establishment. It was full of people, all in outrageous clothing, like Star Trek meets raving meets mosh pit. She saw Chiron not too far away, talking with Silena and a guy with blue hair that made Thalia's look mild.

Silena caught her eye and waved them over enthusiastically. Her dark hair had been pulled into a slick ponytail, and with the eyeliner she was sporting, she looked very far from how she looked a month ago. "Hey, girl!" Silena called once she was close enough to hear her. There were markings – runes – all over her chest. She looked past her to Travis and Percy. "Hey guys, hair and make-up is around back." Luke thanked her and gave her a cheeky wink before brushing past the blue haired guy and heading towards the back of the building before disappearing into the crowd. Percy just gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean hair and make-up?" he tugged at his shirt self-consciously. "What's wrong with how I look now?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, barely stifling a grin.

"Annabeth will show you," Chiron said instead of explaining. He turned back to the blue haired boy, who was looking off into the crowd. "Now Alexander, I need you to be near the entrance -."

Annabeth took this as her cue to go. She reached around to tug at Percy's hand as they weaved through the crowd and into the door Travis had gone into a few seconds ago.

It was much quieter back here. It was a rather large backroom, which had been cleared out for this purpose. There were several little changing rooms made with PCP pipes and black cloth along the backrow, a couple vanities where the make-up artists were waiting, a shit ton of clothes lining another wall, and some extras waiting around to be dressed.

She pushed Percy off onto his personal stylist, a snooty looking girl named Drew and went to go get done herself.

They straightened and re-curled her auburn hair, did her make-up, and put her into a new outfit. She was done in less than twenty minutes, and found Percy waiting awkwardly near the door for her. He'd been redressed too, and in a starkly different attire. Gone were the simple blue jeans and striped t-shirt. In their place, he'd been put into black jeans, an extremely formfitting black tank t-shirt, and a biceps-bearing black vest.

"Hey," she said, trying to ignore the impulse to let her eyes wander. "What're you waiting for?"

He shrugged, tousling his already deliciously mussed hair. "I'm not sure. Kind of nervous, I guess." His ears turned slightly pink at the admission and Annabeth ducked her head to hide her grin.

It wasn't anything she would ever admit, but hell if they had all felt the same way.

She smiled at him. "Don't be." She reached past him to push open the door back out into the 'club'. "You coming?"

xx

A/N:

Hey guys! Oh man, I am so, so sorry for the delay. But hey- better late than never!... Right?

Anyway, I would've had this up a week ago, but I left for a trip over the weekend, and I couldn't access the file while I was gone.

Also, again, many thanks to Maddie (bookish-type-7) for looking over this. She recently wrote a little Percabeth oneshot ( s/9145579/1/mocha-lattes-and-cute-coffee-shop-boys ) that is so cute you HAVE to check it out. I was originally going to have a chapter from Percy's point of view with his little reunion with Rachel instead of this chapter, but ultimately decided against it. Maybe I'll consider putting it as a separate oneshot? What do you guys think?

Reviews/comments/favorites are so, so unbelievably appreciated!

Love, Anna x.


	13. Epiphany

A/N: IMPORTANT! Hey guys! I rewrote this chapter because I was really annoyed with the original. You'll find that this revised version is very, very similar to the original one, but it's rather important that if you don't read the rest, at least read the bottom, where Percy confronts Annabeth and Luke.

When Percy and Annabeth emerged from the back hand in hand, a hush fell over the nearest of extras, who parted for them. The silence was almost reverent, their clasped hands like a staff parting a red sea. They stared at the couple with upturned eyes and parted lips, like one would look at an idol or a celebrity – which Annabeth guessed they were. It was funny - before Percy and this movie she never thought of herself like that – like a celebrity, or hell, anyone worth looking up to. She was just… Annabeth Chase. One of the extras took a step forward, as if going to approach them, but her friend quickly yanked her back to the sidelines with a warning look.

"Dude, that's _Annabeth and Percy_." The friend hissed.

Annabeth saw Percy tense beside her, and felt her own insecurity heightening as they walked slowly past the spectators.

"Does this always happen to you?" Percy murmured in her ear.

She shook her head in response and tightened her grip on Percy's hand, and after a beat, felt him squeeze back.

"Just… act." She whispered, dispensing the same advice she gave herself everytime she felt overwhelmed – which seemed to be often nowadays.

Percy seemed to understand, and held his head higher, the boyish insecurity disappearing behind uncharacteristically haughty green eyes. He looked like someone worthy of the entire room's attention – a prince among his subjects. She could feel herself standing up straighter as they made their way past the rest of the hushed crowd, felt the soft silver of her eyes hardening into steel.

When they finally got towards the corner in the club the entire cast was staring at them with a variety of expressions. Thalia with a quirked eyebrow, Travis with a smirk, Ethan with a scowl, and Silena with a knowing look that made something in her stomach turn somersaults. Chiron alone approached them, eyeing them over with a raised eyebrow.

Reluctantly, Annabeth let her hand drop to the side under the scrutiny of his gaze. The absence of his hand in hers left the oddest burning sensation in her palm.

"Well, we're almost ready to get started." Chiron announced, his loud voice booming in the quiet space, as if he noticed nothing. He directed the actors to their positions before disappearing off to the side where some of the cameras were.

Percy smiled tightly at Annabeth, anxiety radiating off of him in nauseating waves. Annabeth remembered once again the newness of the feeling Percy must be experiencing. His very first day on set – Annabeth felt like a mother on her child's first day of kindergarten.

"You'll be fine." She said, the firmness of her own voice surprising her. "Go get 'em, Seaweed Brain."

Percy smiled before turning, melding into the crowd. Annabeth was left alone to get into character, to still the rapid beating of her heart. In that moment, Annabeth let herself fade and let the character take over. Her past, her present, the worries of her future – they all disappeared behind a wall in her mind. Even Percy's bright presence muted and eventually disappeared behind her carefully laid bricks. There was nothing.

_Sweet, sweet release._

"And… Action!"

Xx

The scene took twenty-three takes, not many by any means, but enough to get Percy antsy – and Annabeth could tell.

After every take Chiron would tell someone to do something a different way, occasionally cutting them off after only a few seconds. On more than several occasions, these directions were aimed towards Percy.

After they wrapped the scene, the actors who weren't in the next scene were asked to step outside, and all of them were awarded a couple minutes of reprieve.

Percy was quiet beside her, and she could still feel his anxiety.

"Hey," she said in the quiet way only Percy could ever inspire in her, taking his hands in hers. She hesitated, her palms clammy as she slowly reached up and pecked him softly on the cheek, as if afraid he would startle and run away. When she settled back down onto the soles of her feet, she could hardly hear for the rush of blood in her ears. "You can do this."

Percy gasped so softly Annabeth later decided she had imagined it, when Annabeth's lips brushed unexpectedly against his warm skin. His eyes fluttered uncertainly for a moment before he managed a weak grin. "Thank you." He said hoarsely.

"Alright guys, positions!" The assistant director hollered.

Annabeth, not for the first time felt her heart rate's acceleration pounding away in her head.

_What's wrong with me?_

Xx

They filmed all morning and only at half past noon did Chiron call for lunch break. Everyone poured out into the back lot of the studio, the light breeze a welcome treat to their hot, sweaty bodies.

Percy headed straight to the refreshments, gulping down three cups of water before grabbing two more, three sandwiches, and four slices of pieces. Thalia raised her eyebrows as he approached.

"Oh good, you brought back food for all of us."

Percy laughed. "Yeah right. This is just for me and Annabeth. Get your own stinking food."

Thalia scrunched up her nose as Annabeth took one water and two sandwiches. "Fat ass,"

"Teenaged boy," he corrected.

"Same thing." She frowned before going off to get food for herself with Silena. He shrugged off the insult and took the last bite of one of the pizzas before heading off to the next.

"Hey, where's Travis and Ethan?" Percy asked. He didn't particularly get along with either guy, but he made an effort to be nice to both.

"I don't know, actually." She hadn't seen either of them since the break had been called.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it." Silena said as she and Thalia returned holding her lunch. "I think I saw Ethan comparing notes with Chiron. However, I really do think we should worry about the missing Travis."

"As long as he isn't anywhere around me, I'm good." Thalia snorted.

Annabeth frowned. "Actually, I think I remember seeing them disappearing off together into a back corner somewhere."

"No, I distinctly remember Ethan talking to Chiron _alone._" Silena said firmly, staring at her plate.

Annabeth began to say something but changed her mind, and soon the conversation took a different turn.

"Have any of you seen Beckendorf?" Silena asked. The trainer had followed them to the city, and Silena out of all of them had seen him the most during lessons, seeing as she was jumping from love interest to warrior. "I want to see if he saw that whip move I did in that last scene – to make sure I did it right."

"Oh, I'm sure you did fine." Annabeth assured her friend. She was glad it was a prop, because Silena was deadly good with it.

"Yeah, and I think I overheard Chiron saying something about sending him home early, so you must be really improving." Thalia chimed in.

To Annabeth's surprise, Silena didn't preen at the praise. Instead, a strange look overcame the girl.

"Oh. I see." She said tightly.

"Silena, you need to be more confident in your skills. You're great with the stunts. You don't need any more lessons." Thalia sighed.

Silena gave her friend a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Annabeth alone was left to ponder as to the exact time when Thalia and Silena, the two most unlikely friends ever got so friendly.

Shortly after, Silena left to prepare for the next scene, and Percy left quickly after to do the same. Thalia got called by the hotel to speak about the morning's incident, and soon Annabeth was left alone. Not quite ready to return to the overheated club, Annabeth strayed a little further to the edges of the group, enjoying the subtle breeze.

"What're you doing?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. It was a guy's, but deeper and smoother than Percy's.

She jumped slightly at the noise, and whipped around. Standing a foot away was a guy Annabeth had seen around a couple times, but had never been properly introduced to. For a moment, she was struck speechless. Away from the dusty, artificial light of the studio offices, Annabeth got her first real look at him.

The guy was _hot._

Like, we're talking setting ovaries on fire _hot._If Annabeth didn't know any better she would've thought she first laid eyes on him at a men's fashion show. His tousled blond hair was the perfect mix of hot surfer boy meets law firm intern, a tight torso and abs peeking through a gray t-shirt. He was six feet four chockfull of sex, and his deep blue eyes were staring directly at _her_. She struggled to remember the name that fit with the face and in a bout of recollection she finally did: _Luke._The name sounded so sweet and angelic in her head that it took her a moment to realize he had been talking to her.

"Umm, sorry, what?"

He chuckled, and it was like reliving the storm last night, all smooth thunder and pouring rain.

"I asked you what you were doing." He said, not unkindly.

"Oh!" She felt her face flush. "I was just…" she waved her arm noncommittally at the view she had been engrossed in minutes ago. "Enjoying the New York skyline."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

She nodded furiously. "Oh, yeah. I think it's beautiful. The stark contrast, and smooth opposition – no view like it anywhere else on Earth."

He seemed impossibly close, an almost predatory smile curling his pink lips. "You know, I was just thinking that about the view in front of me now."

She felt the breath catch in her throat.

If she thought she was going to hyperventilate _before_…

_Oh god, oh god, oh god..._

If she didn't have better control over her body (cough hormones cough) Annabeth would totally be swooning right now.

"Annabeth!" Luke blinked at her, before turning around. Annabeth had to give herself a second to breathe and adjust before turning in irritation to whoever it was who had ruined her perfect fairy tale-esque moment.

It was Percy.

Of course.

He was striding rather quickly in her direction, and was looking rather impatient. He must've been calling her name for a while, as there was the slightest flush to his cheeks.

Her stomach twisted, and all at once she felt a flurry of emotion.

Guilt held the vanguard, delivering the first blow.

She felt like a child caught in the cookie jar – which didn't make sense of course. It wasn't as if she were his property – she was a girl not a _thing, _thank you very much. And it wasn't as though they were anything more than friends, though once upon a time Percy might've wished they were. Still, he had made it perfectly clear last night that he had moved on – specifically to the striking, curly-haired Rachels of the world.

Part of Annabeth told her to feel relief. When was it, so many eons ago, that Annabeth had been sitting right beside him in a limo on the way to the premiere telling him that nothing would ever become of them?

However, that same part could only feel the crushing blow of the sight of Percy's back walking away from her and towards his beautiful Rachel.

None of anything she was feeling was making any sense at all.

One second she was blushing and admiring the Greek god in front of her, the second she was sagging under the weight of emotions stronger than anything she had ever felt before that she couldn't hope to understand.

She tore herself away from her own thoughts, trying to breathe as if her own emotions weren't betraying her.

Luke was introducing himself to him, extending a beautiful hand towards Percy, but Percy hadn't even looked away from Annabeth at this point, and Annabeth found that she couldn't quite tear her eyes away either. When Percy finally did look away, it wasn't at Luke's face, but rather his still outstretched arm. Annabeth followed his gaze to the freckles on the back of his hand and the nimble fingers he offered to Percy. Luke was still smiling, but a rather confused look came over him when Percy still didn't take it. Shrugging and stuffing the hand back into his pocket, Luke turned to grin one more dazzling grin at Annabeth.

"Hey, I gotta get back behind the camera, but I'll see you, alright? It's nice to meet you both!" He said, oblivious, before ducking his head and walking off back towards the building.

Staring at Luke's receding back and trying not to feel the strange accusation in Percy's eyes as he looked at her, Annabeth tried to figure out what she was doing with her life and failed miserably.

There she was, being flattered off her feet by a beautiful new blond, and all she could think of was the blond boy she felt she had known forever right in front of her.

_Perhaps_, Annabeth thought, with a feeling that everything she had ever known was about to come crashing down around her ears, _perhaps I am in love with him_.

A/N:

Reviews don't take any time at all and they make me happy and warm and fuzzy on the inside! The next couple chapters should be very interesting! The next chapter will be up - and I absolutely promise this time! - by Wednesday.

Love,

Anna x.


	14. Percy is Stupid

Chapter 14: Annabeth Figures Out Her Feelings

Also known as

Percy is Strangely Knowledgable About Everybody's Love Life But His Own

A/N: Hey guys! Right on time, as promised. If you didn't go back and reread the ending of chapter 13, please do that now because everything will make more sense if you do :)

_Love. I'm in freaking love with Percy Jackson._

She wasn't quite sure how it had taken her so long to put a name to , just thinking about it, the mere possibility of _her _being in love… it was like the idea of Thalia submitting without a fight or Silena becoming skeptical of true love – it just didn't happen. Yet it was the only word that seemed to fit. How else could she explain the warmth that the mere thought of Percy brought? Or the security of being in his arms that night of the premiere, tucked against his chest, as if she hadn't been yelling at him earlier that evening. The twist of jealousy when that fan girl came flouncing up with more courage than Annabeth had, when it came to Percy. The pain, the gutwrenching _pain _when he left her last night, and her relief, like she could finally breathe again, when she saw he had returned.

How could she had been so ignorantly blind?

It was then, as the sun broke the clouds, that Annabeth realized that she wasn't always as smart as she thought.

_:Percy's POV:_

"Errm, Annabeth?" Percy asked after a few seconds of a silence that apparently seemed awkward only to him. "Is something wrong?"

She was staring up at him with an expression he had never seen on her face. It was as if she had just come to a shocking realization, though Percy had no idea what that could be. Behind him the sun broke from the clouds, and Annabeth suddenly appeared to be outlined in gold, stenciled in by the gods themselves. The light gave a softness to her sharp cheekbones and sweetened the pink curve of her lips as they parted, and for the eighth time that day Percy was struck with how really beautiful Annabeth was when she wasn't yelling at him.

Oh hell, even then it was like being chastised by an angel.

She blinked against the light, and looked away as if it hurt her eyes. Still though, she was smiling in that peculiar way. "Nothing's wrong, idiot." Annabeth laughed, looking at him again with that face.

Percy was very confused.

Very,

very ,

confused.

Just a second ago Annabeth glared him down with the force of an exploding star, and then was suddenly grinning up at him with the brilliance of one.

"I do not understand," he said, scratching his head.

She just laughed again and began to walk back to the building. "Just forget it," she said, shaking her head. "Let's go back before Chiron freaks."

"No, I seriously don't understand," Percy tried to persist, following her. "Who was that guy? What did he want?"

Earlier he had gone back inside to go over his lines with Silena, but she was busy. He had searched for her everywhere before finding her in a very secluded corner of the set. It was almost like she hadn't wanted anyone to find her. She wasn't alone however – Beckondorf was there, too. She had said they were practicing for some later scenes, but Percy couldn't recall any where her character had to kiss anyone. Whatever – Percy wasn't as stupid as Annabeth's nickname for him would suggest after all. Still he liked Silena and Beckondorf, and figured their business was their business.

Bored, he looked about, but couldn't find any other of his castmates either – both Ethan and Travis had disappeared somewhere as well. Percy had some strong suspicions that they were practicing for some later scenes, too.

It was only the first day of filming and it was already feeling like a rerun of Degrassi.

(Annabeth was completely oblivious to this kind of stuff, but not him – he could always tell when someone had been hit with Aphrodite's arrow – or whatever it's called. He had absolutely no idea what was going on with Annabeth though…)

When he had finally located Annabeth standing rather far apart from the group, he had simply grinned and began walking towards her. He hadn't seen the seven foot oaf with the stupid haircut until he got closer because of the view-obstructing crowd, and his stomach soured when he did.

Not a single overly-producted hair seemed trustworthy. Percy had seen Toy Story 3, after all, and he knew the dangers of Ken dolls, okay.

In reflection, Percy knew perfectly well that Annabeth could handle anything thrown at her without blinking an eye and was by no definition a damsel in distress. It was part of the reason he l – liked her so much. If he was to be completely honest, he'd have to admit that it was more for his assurance than hers that he marched up to the pair.

Still, he was kind of glad he did.

Every second less that asshat spent lingering around Annabeth was another second Percy could relax.

To his complete and utter astonishment, Annabeth didn't seem to be that furious with him either. For a second there he was seriously contemplating a quick and strategic retreat, but her anger seemed to have melted away within seconds – a new record.

To be honest, it was extremely scary.

Now she was dragging him back towards the group, her hand soft and smooth in his. Percy immediately felt guilt at how he'd overreacted, and considered seeking out Luke again to apologize.

But of course, if anyone was owed an apology, it was Annabeth herself – besides, he had to know what had inspired her to act so oddly.

"Annabeth, wait." He said, coming to a stop. She slowed and walked back until she was standing only a foot away. "We have to talk."

Annabeth frowned slightly, and Percy almost regretted bringing it up. "What's wrong?"

"First of all, I'm sorry I barged into your conversation. I'm also very sorry I was rude to Luke." He tilted his head slightly. "Well, I'm averagely sorry about Luke."

"Ah, I don't care about Luke anymore," Annabeth said with a dismissive shake of the head.

Percy hesitated. "Wait – what?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"You don't care about Ken doll from back there? Because you sure seemed to care at first, and not to seem like I'm trying to steal your man or anything – even though I totally could, because hello, have you seen my glorious abs? – but even _I _cared a little about Luke."

This was kind of true. It wasn't so much of a 'I want to be on you', more like a 'I want to _be _you' kind of thing. Plus, now that Annabeth was securely not interested in Luke, Percy could begin to appreciate his finer features. He was as straight as they came, but _god_, did that man have an ass.

Annabeth laughed really hard at this when he voiced it aloud, but just shrugged.

"I guess I've actually found out what I want now."

Percy narrowed his eyes at the uncharacteristically vague sentence. It was almost ominous sounding.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Annabeth sighed wearily. "Oh come on, Seaweed Brain. It's not that hard to figure out."

"I... I don't…" he groped around for any possible meaning, but came up empty handed.

Someone rather far away was calling all the cast, extras, and production crew back inside the building to continue filming.

"Think about it, Percy." She said softly, before turning away.

Incredibly perplexed, Percy was left standing in the middle of a decrepit lot staring at Annabeth's willowy figure walking away from him.

He's always sucked at guessing games.

Xx

They filmed the rest of the afternoon, and most of the evening. Most of the scenes featured Percy and Annabeth's characters, so little break was had. Unfortunately, this also meant little time for talking.

As the vans pulled up into the lot, Percy had been practically shoved aside by Travis as he started to climb in after Annabeth and Ethan.

"Asshole," he had muttered as Travis beamed unapologetically from the last seat in the van, squeezed in between Annabeth and Ethan.

"Language!" he trilled as the door shut between them.

So he was stuck in a car between Silena and Beckendorf, and by the time they finally stumbled out into the hotel parking lot, the car was reeking with unresolved sexual tension.

Ugh.

The six of them stumbled blearily into the lobby. Thalia, who had called it quits early with the equivalency of a stuck out tongue at the actors who were forced to stay the entire day, met them there with a grin.

"How was filming?"

A tired groan erupted from the group. She smirked and seemed to take this as an appropriate answer.

Even he didn't want to stick around any longer than he could, and went straight to his room. He was too tired to figure out the enigmatic puzzle that was Annabeth right now.

Still, it seemed he would have to anyway.

He pushed open the door to his hotel room with a sigh, throwing his jacket onto the floor and ruffling his hair as he stretched. He froze midyawn as he realized he was hardly alone.

Grover sat on the edge of his bed, which was normal and to be expected – what he hadn't expected was Rachel, sitting crosslegged on his bed.

He froze midyawn.

"Perce!" she crowed.

"Rachel!" he reciprocated halfheartedly. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see her – he was. But he was so tired he could've fallen asleep while walking. "No offense or anything, because you know I love you but – what the fuck are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "I was bored and my two best friends were finally in town – what did you think I was going to do?" She patted the space beside her. "You look exhausted." She squinted at him, as if by doing so she could map out his entire thought process. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, I'm just tired."

Rachel crossed her arms petulantly over her chest. "Yeah right. Come on – we're all friends here. What's on your mind."

Hesitating slightly, he glanced around to Grover's earnest expression and Rachel's crossed arms. They weren't going to let him sleep until he spilled – God, it was like they were back in high school. Rolling his eyes, he told them what Annabeth had said.

After he finished, Rachel and Grover were both giving him dumbstruck looks.

"What?"

"You've got to be fucking me." Rachel deadpanned, blinking at him before turning back to Grover. "He's fucking with me, isn't he?"

"I don't think he is," Grover mused in the same sort of voice.

"What?" Percy snapped – he was too tired for this shit.

"Percy," Rachel was looking at him oddly. "Percy, I love you, but you're dumb as shit."

Percy, who was still reeling at this point, spluttered. "I literally have no idea what you're talking about right now!"

"Yes, love, that's the problem."

The duo shared another meaningful glance.

"Should we tell him?" murmured Rachel.

"I think it might be best if we let him figure this out on his own." Grover said back, as if Percy wasn't sitting right there.

"Oh for the love of God, just tell me." Percy groaned.

Rachel and Grover looked at each other again before turning to him.

"No, I don't think so."

"Yeah, I really don't think that tonight's the night."

"I'm just not feeling it."

Grover turned out the lamp, pitching the entire room into darkness.

"I swear to God you guys, if you don't tell me I'll smother you both in your sleep."

"Night, Percy!"

Percy screamed into his pillow.

Xx

Later that night, Grover stumbled out into the hallway, bleary from sleep. He had stubbed his toe on the way to the restroom and was sure there was an ice machine somewhere in the lobby.

He had just rounded a corner when he ran smack into someone.

"Thalia?" He said in surprise, dark eyebrows disappearing beneath a fringe of crazy curls.

She scowled and rubbed her forehead.

"Oh, now you speak to me." She grumbled. "I guess you have no choice now that we've literally run into each other."

Grover blinked at her, tiredness muting his ability to think. "What are you talking about?"

She stared at him incredulously.

"You haven't talked to me once since this entire thing started." She accused.

Grover felt a small lump of guilt in his stomach. He couldn't deny it, not really.

"So what's this all about?" she said once it was made clear he wasn't going to offer anything up.

He said nothing.

Thalia poked him hard in the stomach. "Oh come on. You're not mute."

"You know why, Thalia." He said softly – barely above a whisper.

Her face melted into something almost like understanding. "Grover – is that seriously what this is about? You know I've forgiven you, right? I forgave you a long time ago – not that there was really anything to forgive in the first place."

He looked at her sharply. "Nothing to forgive? I ruined your career."

She _tsk_ed. "You did nothing of the sort. I quit, Grover. I wasn't forced out of the business. Plus I love being an agent. I'm good at it."

Grover appeared to have gone mute again, running his finger along the rim of the empty ice bucket.

"And," Thalia started again. "it wasn't your fault. You were honorbound to tell. Luke and I… I never should have encouraged him. We were all teenagers back then, we couldn't control our hormones. You were the only one with enough sense to know that it was wrong."

Grover's laugh was sharply bitter. "Luke…"

Thalia bit back at her thoughts. She knew he was working on this movie – hell, she had even seen him earlier that day. The sight of him shook her like nothing else did – she was Thalia Grace after all. She didn't run from her conflicts. Except for today, when she did, all but fleeing the set after a glimpse of the wavy blond hair she used to love.

Thalia used to be a child actor, just like Annabeth. Luke was always lingering around the set on this one movie she did– his dad was set manager after all. They had both been thirteen at the time, curious and naïve. At the time she had a pretty big name. She was the spunky child star everyone loved – or whatever. One time Grover, at the time Thalia's best friend, caught them kissing in her trailer. Long story, blah blah blah, Thalia was told not to hang around those kinds of people anymore – she was a starlet. Time to start acting like one.

So she quit acting all together. It didn't bother her – her talents were elsewhere. Still, she couldn't see Luke anymore, and all of a sudden Grover was gone, too.

She had felt very, very alone.

Now it appeared that he had stayed away in guilt all these years – ridiculous.

"Luke was a decade ago." Thalia snapped. "And I have my future to look forward to. And seeing as it appears we'll be spending a lot of time with each other, I want to know if you'll be there. As my friend."

Grover, now wide awake and feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, just reached forward and wrapped his arms around her. It felt like a familiar action, though it had been so long since they had last hugged.

"I missed you,"

"I missed you, too."

A/N: HEY GUYS. So, I was kind of playing around with this story and where it's going and what not, and I've finally decided - this story will only have one more chapter left and then a bonus epilogue type deal. I've actually been planning out a next story (that will be much, much better thought out) so the fact that this one will be wrapped up soon makes me very, very happy. Several times while I was writing this, I've wanted very much to give up, and it's thanks to you guys, who review/fav/follow that made me get off my lazy ass to keep going, so thank you.

Please, please review! The last chapter (before the epilogue) will be up next Wednesday (the 22nd).

So much love,

Anna x.


	15. That's a Wrap

Both Rachel and Grover were refusing to budge on the information, which really just meant he was hopeless.

"So nothing's changed!" Rachel chirped when he happened to voice the last tidbit aloud.

"Guys," Grover sighed, half warning, half exasperation.

"Yes, Dad," Rachel teased. She leaned over to tousle Percy's hair. "Look, idiot, if you want to know so badly _ask her._"

"It's just not right hearing it from anyone else," Grover chimed in.

"Hearing_ what?_" he all but wailed as the elevator finally arrived in the lobby. They had all woken up too late to eat any breakfast unfortunately (his stomach was already having a conniption fit), and narrowly woke up in time to avoid being woken up by Mr. D himself marching in banging a gong. This also unfortunately meant he wouldn't be seeing Annabeth until they got on set either.

"You're both douchecanoes," he informed them grumpily as they piled into the last van. The ride was mostly silent, punctuated by Percy's irritation.

"But you love us," Rachel purred, batting her eyes.

"And you know we aren't be doing this to hurt you, right?" Grover looked genuinely anxious. His afro nearly wilted.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

Chiron wheeled out to meet them at the entrance of the building. "There's been a change of plans."

He could see Grover worrying his lip out of the corner of his eye. "What is it?" Percy asked.

"We're switching around some scenes. Silena wasn't feeling well today, so we're moving up tomorrow's scenes today."

"Is she alright?" Percy asked distractedly. Tomorrow's scenes… oh, but -!

"Chiron!" Percy hurried to catch up with Chiron who had already started back towards the set. "Chiron!" The man came to a stop, looking up at him with an unreadable expression. "Tomorrow's scenes… isn't that the -?"

"The kissing scene?" Chiron's eyebrows came up. "Why yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Er – erm, no. Not at all, sir."

"Good." He began back towards the set again.

"Oh – but Chiron!"

"Go to makeup, Jackson." Percy could've sworn he heard laughter in the old man's voice.

Man, everyone was out to get him these days.

He kept his head down as he headed back towards where make up set up shop. He mulled over his thoughts as he settled into his chair and let the woman prettify him. First he's left with a confusing statement from Annabeth when she'd normally be pissed at him, and today he'd have to kiss her.

Well, okay.

'Had to' kiss her was probably the wrong wording.

The thing was, he _really, really _wanted to. And that, paired with the fact that Annabeth had made it clear ages ago that they would never be more than friends, was super depressing. Like, crying orphans in Ghana depressing. But what had she meant by knowing what she wanted? Maybe this would make sense if he thought from Annabeth's perspective. This would probably include calling himself a lot of names. Time to channel his inner blonde movie star. He imagined a mini, adorable Annabeth popping up on his shoulder.

"_Aw, come on, Seaweed Brain, think. What exactly was it that I said, 'I guess I've found out what I want now'? The 'now' probably means that it's a new realization, and considering the context (I had said that to explain why I wasn't mad about Percy all but sending Luke away) I probably meant 'who' instead of 'what'. So. I like someone who is not Luke. Knowing me, it's someone I know well, probably someone I just met." _

So Annabeth was in love with someone who wasn't Luke, and was someone new that she had changed her mind about.

…

"BUT WHO COULD THAT BE?!" he cried aloud in anguish. The make up artist started and left a smear of some white powder-y stuff across his lips, glaring at him as she muttered darkly.

The guy was a lucky bastard, whoever he was, and Percy wanted to knock his teeth out.

First things first – who was the douchenugget?

Someone working on the movie, surely. Not Ethan, Annabeth hardly ever talked to him. Ethan was like a sulky grizzly bear, no one talked to him but Travis, and that was probably just because he was hot. Not Beckondorf, because Silena was secretly dating him (though secretly might not be the right word- if Chiron knew then the whole cast and crew knew).

But wait… that left…

"Oh. My. God."

Xx

He had sprung out of his chair, unnecessarily knocking over $500 dollars of makeup in the process.

Whatever. He had a girl to fling himself at.

Ignoring the calls of his makeup artist, he fought his way over into the set, doing some more probably unnecessary knocking over that would probably require form filling out later. Whatever. Grover was getting bored anyway.

The set was nearly empty of actors when he got there. The only people there were the camera people, Chiron, some assistants, Annabeth, and her makeup artist, who was touching up her make up, laughing at some joke she'd made.

He stormed onset, only seeing Annabeth and the man.

"Percy?" Annabeth met his furious gaze, brows creasing. "What's wrong – oh, my god!"

Percy had done the only thing he could do – which was to arch his elbow back as far as he could and punch the make up artist in the face as hard as he could.

"Percy!" she shrieked, struggling to help keep the man upright.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I can't believe you're secretly dating this guy!"

"Per – wait, what?"

"Oh my god -!" the man shrieked, clutching at his jaw. Percy ignored him.

"Oh, don't deny it, I see you every day, joking and laughing, _just a minute ago even_! I know what you meant now, yesterday, and I'm sorry but this guy is not right for you."

"Percy – he _does my makeup _for a living! We're friends. _He's gay! _What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I – oh. Wait what?"

"What're you even talking about? What happened yesterday?!" she stopped mid yell, relaxing almost. Her cheeks were pink from yelling, her hair slightly mussed. "Oh." She laughed. "Oh, Percy. Oh my god, darling, I love you, but you are the densest person I know."

"I'm still on the ground, over here!" the makeup artist attempted. He was ignored. Again.

Percy blushed. "Hey, I'm not – wait, you love me?" His mouth felt dry, and suddenly everything seemed to click. All those times she had insisted that they could be nothing more than friends, but now… "Annabeth…" his voice softened, and he took a step towards her. It was all he could do not to throw himself at her.

"Percy." She closed the space between them, snaking her arms around his shoulder. "Percy, it's _you_. _I_ _love_ _you._"

And then Percy couldn't really help himself. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. All these months, and he thought he would never be able to do this, but here he was with Annabeth who _loved him._

Then, the world exploded into applause. Literally.

Well, almost literally.

It wasn't the world, but the cast and crew, who could've been the only people left on Earth for all he cared. They flooded onto the set, a roaring din of applause and catcalling (that might've just been Travis though), but Percy could hardly hear it.

"Annabeth," he lifted his arms from around her waist to cup her face. She was so, _so _beautiful. "Annabeth, I love you."

"I know, Seaweed Brain. It just took me a while to catch up." She grinned, laughing as Silena (who apparently had been faking illness, because there wasn't a soul on Earth that didn't ship Percabeth) ran in front of the couple to snap a photo.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rachel and Grover cheering and clapping. Percy grinned at them over Annabeth's shoulder before mouthing a silent '_I'm still going to kill you'. _Grover's face paled and he looked like he rather wanted to puke.

_Serves him right._

But for now, he was surrounded by his friends, and his loved ones, and he couldn't imagine being any happier.

xx

In all the din and confusion, no one noticed a sulking makeup artist with a bruised jaw picking himself off the floor and stumbling outside.

Three months later, that same makeup artist would receive a fruitbasket. Attached to it was a messily handwritten note: _sorry I punched you and thought you were dating Annabeth – PJ _and a wedding invitation.

_A/N: Wow. Okay. It's finally done. Thank you so much for sticking with me this far, despite how long it took me to get this up. Thanks again, to my favorite person, Maddie at bookish-type-7_

_I'm actually really proud of this story, and i hope you liked it! Please leave a review if you did. It would make everything worth it._

_In addition, I've started a new Percabeth AU story, and if you're still craving some fic, please check it out! You can find it by clicking on my account name, or searching Namaste or Whatever by Combustspontaneously._

_Thank again._

_Much love,_

_Anna x._


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